It is very common for patients to complain that they don't get to spend enough time with their physician, or that their questions don't get answered. This is more true now than it was 20 years ago, and is a direct result of the fact that physicians are paid, not for taking care of patients, but for seeing patients, not for solving their problems but for spending time, even a very small amount of time, physically in an office with them. Physicians are not paid for talking on the phone with patients, for e-mailing them, for discussing their case with learned colleagues, for evaluating their complex medications with pharmacies or for coordinating care with specialists, caregivers or family members. What we do get paid for, and often well paid for, is office calls. The other day I read an article published in a trade journal called the American College of Physicians Internist reviewing suggestions made by Dr. Neil Baum, a urologist in New Orleans, in a session of the Medical Gro...
The cost of health care in the US is higher than anywhere else in the world, and yet we are not healthier than our peer nations. In fact, in terms of such measures as infant mortality and life span, we don't measure up. Why is this? Many people involved in providing or receiving care have some pretty good ideas about what costs so much, and what we can do to reduce costs and improve quality. Sharing these stories is an important step in creating affordable universal health care.