Wednesday, September 10, 2008

It’s not our fault , says Dr. Rob....

So, who's fault is it anyway? Why is it so difficult to find a doctor who will spend time with us? What happened to the "old-time" care we used to get? Dr. Rob explains it from his side of the fence.

Dear Patients:

I know you get frustrated with our office. We make you come in for visits when you think we should handle things over the phone. We seem more focused on your chart sometimes than on you. Sometimes you may even wonder if money has become more important than patients.

To this, I say: I’m Sorry. It’s not our fault.

We are part of an insane system that requires us to do things in a way that makes life harder for us both. We would love to practice medicine differently, but we simply can’t.
When you read the whole article, be sure to focus on the problem, not what you may perceive as a "whine". It isn't. There is a PCP shortage, and we are paying for it as patients. Why is there a shortage? Well, that's what Dr. Rob and others are trying to explain:

About a year ago, Health Care Finance reported on the PCP shortage:

"If real incomes for primary care physicians continue to decline, there is a risk that the migration of male physicians will intensify and that female physicians may begin avoiding primary care - trends that could aggravate a predicted shortage of primary care physicians," said Paul Ginsburg, president of HSC, a nonpartisan policy research organization funded principally by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Today, JAMA published an article Factors Associated With Medical Students' Career Choices Regarding Internal Medicine in which the disparities between the salaries of PCPs and those of physicians in a specialty were outlined.

What is the answer? There isn't a short answer. But we need to find one.

To read more....
It’s not our Fault Musings of a Distractible Mind

Chaos

PHS Launches Task Force to Address PCP Shortage

Are hospitals purposely causing a PCP shortage? (kevinmd.com)

Primary Care Physician Shortage Linked to Lower Income

Dr. Leap on Customer Service

Look at one physician's experience as a patient:

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