Healthcare fraud continues to be rampant. Medicare barely pays enough to cover office expenses for most physicians. More physicians are refusing to take Medicare as payment.
Lack of effective oversight is killing the largest health insurer in the world.
How is your relationship with your doctor?
Patients are becoming increasingly frustrated with the doctor-patient relationship. They don’t trust their doctors- they’ve realized that doctors are fallible but some are too egotistical to admit their shortcomings.
There’s no doubt that doctors have given themselves a back eye with regard to their performance. Healthcare services have been broken for a long time as evidenced by the comments of the late Larry Ragan.
Doctors don’t appear to like their side of the relationship any more than patients do. Although I do have to wonder “Did these doctors think that they’d only have young, beautiful, and healthy patients in their practices?” Many modern physicians have unreasonable expectations of what medical practice should be like. One doctor noted he “loves” being a doctor but hates practicing medicine. I can only shake my head in disbelief. If you don’t practice medicine you’re not really a doctor- your an overeducated person with underutilized skills.
Patients deserve doctors who can and will care. But patients need to match their needs with their doctors skills. Secret shoppers may help you find the right doctor.
Be demanding of your doctor. Take an interest in your healthcare. Just as important take responsibility.
Readers know that the Aegis staff believe that many if not most medical errors are preventable. Likewise, many, if not most, errors are expensive and dangerous to your health. A new report from U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reconfirms our beliefs.
What actually caught our eye was the amount that this costs consumers- $1.5 billion annually. You read that right BILLION dollars.
We are fequently asked “What can i, as a consumer, do about this?” Here are some answers:
If you have an unexpected adverse outcome:
1) report it to your state medical board.
2) report it to the JCAHO. You can use the Sentinel Event Hotline @630-792-3700. You can also report on line. Click HERE to go directly to the complaint page.
3) contact the Beneficiary Complaint Response Program @1-800-MEDICARe if you are a Medicare beneficiary. You will be directed to an individual who will be able to walk you through the process that follows. You can find the complaint response program HERE.
4) report it to your insurance carrier.
5) report it to your employer’s personnel or benefits director.
6) complain to the hospital administrator
Prevention is always better than management of adverse outcomes. The best way to prevent many adverse outcomes is still taking an active role in your health care, ask questions, check out your physician and hospital carefully, and reduce all of your agreements with your physician or hospital to writing.
It’s your health, take part and take care.
Internal medicine, like many specialties, trains residents by having them spend enormous amounts of time caring for hospitalized patients. In contrast, the average internist spends most of his/her time in an office setting caring for ambulatory patients.
Not surprising that a recent study has demonstrated that residents who spend more time in clinic provide better care. I’ve always believed that it’s important where your physician trained. It seems I may be right.
Ask you physicians what his/her training was like. It may save your life.
There are lots of problems with American healthcare. One of the biggest is the overuse of technology. Several years ago when I worked at a major, tertiary-care children’s hospital I would routinely provide anesthesia for children for CT scans and MRIs. Some of these scans were necessary and appropriate. Many were for “softer” reasons. Many were frankly unnecessary. The government has finally begun looking hard at the necessity of these scans. In essence, many physicians, physicians groups, and hospitals are installing CT and MRI scanners because they generate revenue and until recently have not been examined regarding appropriateness of use. You can find the entire GAO report http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/WSJ_HB_GAOreport071408.pdf.
CT and MRI are both relatively safe. But, if the results of any test won’t change your diagnosis or therapy your doctor is wasting your money and time.
It’s your healthcare dollar. Spend it wisely.
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