Doctor rant...can I please please????

[Bird]

Yes, I have a large deductible, too. But the family doctor knows my history, and he knows my plan for the future. I work with him on an annual basis to keep me in peak condition! hahahaa well, maybe not peak, but we look at the past and he tells me how many more cookies I have to cut out of my diet next year. :licking: But seriously, the family doctor is where is should all start. The trick is finding one who's opinion and skills you trust to guide you along to where you want to be.

I sorta, maybe, halfway understand that, and I know some insurance requires specific referrals, but if you know what kind of doctor you need, and which specific doctor, your family doctor will refer you to, I don't know why you'd waste time going to the family doctor first.

 

[farmgirl19]

Insurance is the biggest reason that certain things have to be done by certain folks and in a certain order. If they don't follow the insurance protocols, they are not paid by the insurance company, and also lose the right to be in the insurance carriers network, in the future. Most doctoring has been taken out of the hands of many doctors. I fear that it will only get worse, in the next 10-20 years, as it has the last 10-20 years.

 

[rekees4300]

Welcome to USA healthcare, doctrine of the Trinity: money, lawyers, insurance.

 

[farmgirl19]

Pretty much sums it up.

 

[murphy1244]

If you like your health plan you can keep it.:thumbdown::confused3:

 

[farmgirl19]

These issues have been in the works, even before that plan came into being. Things have been progressing along this path for 10-20 years. And with the legal implications, and malpractice insurance, it will only get worse. The veterinarian might be the only true family doctor remaining, but look for the specialization to take over that field soon too, due to those same legal and insurance reasons, I'm sure.

 

[MossRoad]

I sorta, maybe, halfway understand that, and I know some insurance requires specific referrals, but if you know what kind of doctor you need, and which specific doctor, your family doctor will refer you to, I don't know why you'd waste time going to the family doctor first.

If you are already being treated for a specific thing and its recurring and you've seen a specialist before on this, I would agree. However, many people self-diagnose their problems and make poor decisions as to self medication, self treatment, and thinking they know which doctor to see on their own, then get miffed when sent to see other specialists.

I kind of see my family doctor as my general contractor. He knows which crews do good work. And he won't send in a drywall crew to take care of structural damage. :fever:

 

[MossRoad]

These issues have been in the works, even before that plan came into being. Things have been progressing along this path for 10-20 years. And with the legal implications, and malpractice insurance, it will only get worse. The veterinarian might be the only true family doctor remaining, but look for the specialization to take over that field soon too, due to those same legal and insurance reasons, I'm sure.

My vet just sold his practice to a vet management company.

 

[Travelover]

I have a lot of respect for doctors and sympathize with their issues, but as a business, medicine is still basically run like it is 1960. Too many paper records, physicians doing what a physician's assistant or a nurse practitioner could do, totally inefficient scheduling process, payment for services rendered not on overall outcome, zero transparency in pricing....... on and on to the tune of $8000 per person per year.

 

[farmgirl19]

My vet just sold his practice to a vet management company.

Before long, it will ALL be corporate America. *sigh*