The Entire Healthcare Industry Blows.

[Chris]

I'm sitting in my office. I'm trying for the third time today and about the 20th time this week to schedule a checkup with my doctor. I'm on hold now 55 minutes. I have to listen to this horrid 30-second loop of some sort of computer generated techno music then a fake voice that delivers in this annoying, fractured fashion that I'm the "thirteenth caller waiting in the que". You can't leave a message. You can't e-mail them. I have to sit here and wait. I can't take calls. I can't do anything that takes any sort of concentration.

These people don't give a flying f.uck. I may get thrown out of her office, but when I go I plan to unload on the doctor.

[BUIZILLA]

study your avatar... :sifone:

[JupiterSunsation]

I think Chris is going to have a "John Q" moment at the Dr's office.......:D

[THEJOKER]

I'm so lucky to have a great primary physician. He lets me go to the back door of his office and ring a buzzer. The nurse will show up and let me right in. I know what ya mean though Chris.

[jhenrie]

I'd be looking for a different Doc. They get paid from the insurance co weather you go or not so these guys that are that busy are making a great deal of money. At that point you are a number there anyway. Move on. And change your primary with the ins co.

[LotoSteve]

Bill them for YOUR time.

[kitten8]

Sick of Rx companys! We are supposed to use Medco and if we go to a retail pharmacy it is more $$. For instance, Advair for asthma maintence $46 in December for 90 days, now with new insurance since 1/1/10, $439 for 90 days same dosage!!:willy_nilly:


....:eek:

[rainmn]

I may get thrown out of her office, but when I go I plan to unload on the doctor.

My father recently changed dentists. He was so pizzed off at his old one that he kept his last appointment - just so he could tell the dentist what he thought of her office practices to her face.

[Chris]

I'm lucky- one of my best friends is a dentist and my next door neighbor is a pediatrician. My sister is an eye doctor and my wife is a nurse. Good pal is an ortho surgeon. So just about everywhere I'm covered. About the only reason I go to a GP is my DOT physical.

[mikes280]

the average doctor visit is only 7 min ever notice when you keep them in the room to long they are backing out the door as you try to ask a ? I had a talk with mine one time and now he spends as much time as i need. I told him i make a appointment for 1 pm to see him and i set there until 2.30 before i get a room that my time was money to and if he was not going to pay me for my lost time then the least he could do is slow down and listen to my questions

[Wobble]

the average doctor visit is only 7 min ever notice when you keep them in the room to long they are backing out the door as you try to ask a ? I had a talk with mine one time and now he spends as much time as i need. I told him i make a appointment for 1 pm to see him and i set there until 2.30 before i get a room that my time was money to and if he was not going to pay me for my lost time then the least he could do is slow down and listen to my questions

Surprised to hear that he obliged. They can barely make a living as a GP. I have lost 3 in two years. One took the time to explain that he couldn't pay his loans unless he specialized.

The new health care laws may help, see this story http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/26/news/economy/health_care_rural_care_country_doctors/index.htm?cnn=yes&hpt=C1

[03darkshadow]

my Dr. is easy to get ahold of but last time i had an appointment for 3pm and was told to leave and come back in about an hour and a half... then still sat another 30 mins before i was taken back. last time im going to see him.

[phragle]

This was on I think 60 minutes or niteline the other day, forget which... the GP out of school for a couple years was making 120K and still had 100K + in student loans. The people he went to school with that turned specialist were all making in excess of $500k and working less.

[Chris]

I don't know where this was, but I don't know anyone making $500K in the midwest these days.

One of my neighbors just shut down after 25 years in private practice- OB/GYN. Took a job in the hospital. Couldn't make any money after insurance, staff, office. etc.

[phragle]

well it was tv....

[Chris]

I have a pal that's an attorney in the next state. He specializes in defense of MD's. he was telling me a few months back of one of his clients. Ten years ago the guy, a neurosurgeon, was making $850K a year. Today he's under $300k.

We're going to be finding our next batch of MD's from the same places we used to be turning to find our landscapers and fruit pickers. It's happening now.

[2112]

I don't know where this was, but I don't know anyone making $500K in the midwest these days.

One of my neighbors just shut down after 25 years in private practice- OB/GYN. Took a job in the hospital. Couldn't make any money after insurance, staff, office. etc.

I sometimes see physicians promoting single payer HC. I have to believe they are the GPs and ER docs who are getting beat down by poor payment and huge costs of doing business and they see the potential to organize (unions) and therefore become some of the "Government Employee Elites".

Crap, quite a large chunk of city, county and state employees out here far out earn Docs who have much more invested in school, post grad training and the cost of doing business. Firemen with seniority can make well over $200K not including benefits and they have 4 days off after a 3 day tour. Compare that to a ER doc working 60 hours each week for the maybe same pay, Or a GP working for 30% less. :confused:

Management in the city utility companies are pushing $300K per year plus benefits. We have a University President making well into 7 figures too.

.

[drpete3]

I would be willing to argue that not the entire health care system is messed up

[Chris]

Obviously. It was a joke at the frustrations in dealing with the simple act of getting an appointment, which, by the way, I still don't have.

But I'll tell you, it seems like it gets worse every year. And the frustrating thing is there's no way around it. You can't even buy your way out. and I honestly believe it won't get any better.

I still remember in the old Soviet Union days where there would be lines for commodities- like toilet paper. I forsee a day where you line up at the doctor's early in the morning and wait until they get you in. If they don't get you that day, you're welcome to come back tomorrow and try again.

[BUIZILLA]

my uncle is a noted Thoracic and Cardio surgeon, been doing it for about 45 years..

as in Chief Surgeon at the hospital he cuts in... as in FAA Med Examiner... as in top 3 in the SE USA area....

he says that Medicare and Medicaid cut his office visit co-pay to $37, might even be less now.. like $32....

he now gets $1500 for open heart repairs.... and that's before his office expenses...

[Tommy Gun]

Obviously. It was a joke at the frustrations in dealing with the simple act of getting an appointment, which, by the way, I still don't have.

But I'll tell you, it seems like it gets worse every year. And the frustrating thing is there's no way around it. You can't even buy your way out. and I honestly believe it won't get any better.

I still remember in the old Soviet Union days where there would be lines for commodities- like toilet paper. I forsee a day where you line up at the doctor's early in the morning and wait until they get you in. If they don't get you that day, you're welcome to come back tomorrow and try again.

You think its bad now, just wait 'till appointments from those 30 million additoinal insureds start kicking in...you'll have to leave the country to get an appointment.

[phragle]

If you look at he schedule/list Ted posted to implement the whole mess, they cut and cut and cut medicare reimbursment, meanwhile the patient load will be increasing, The private ins. company look to medicare to figure out how little they can pay for something. Its beyond bad already. The ambulance co. I worked for in detroit, had to take medicare pt's. to be allowed in certain facilities and areas. . In 06 reimbrsment was already so bad that it actually cost the company to transport a medicare pt. That translated into unemployment for me as the company left michigan.

[Ratickle]

If you look at he schedule/list Ted posted to implement the whole mess, they cut and cut and cut medicare reimbursment, meanwhile the patient load will be increasing, The private ins. company look to medicare to figure out how little they can pay for something. Its beyond bad already. The ambulance co. I worked for in detroit, had to take medicare pt's. to be allowed in certain facilities and areas. . In 06 reimbrsment was already so bad that it actually cost the company to transport a medicare pt. That translated into unemployment for me as the company left michigan.

My Brother-in-Law is a surgeon. Loses money on every Medicare/Medicaid patient he assists. The payment he receives is less than his cost for the operating room at the hospital.

[MarylandMark]

This was on I think 60 minutes or niteline the other day, forget which... the GP out of school for a couple years was making 120K and still had 100K + in student loans. The people he went to school with that turned specialist were all making in excess of $500k and working less.

I saw that as well. My fiancés boss grossed around $2M last year with just him (Internist & Pediatrician), her (Pediatric & Womens Health Nurse Practitioner), a receptionist (~$15/hr), 2 "nurses" (~$10/hr) and a part time girl (~$8.HR). I say "nurses" because they aren't nurses but can take blood, blood pressure, some tests and so on. The thing is they aren't that busy- like maybe 50 patients a day between the two of them @ 15-20 minutes per patient which works out to about 6.5 hours a day working each. They could drop that down to like 10 minutes and see 96 patients between the two of them in 8 hours. I say could as in care would go down but the time to do it is there- and some times they do see that many, just talking averages.

87% shortage of primary care providers in my area. A little local gossip is a few Doctors are going back to work for some hospitals because the health care overhaul makes it too hard to stay in business and some of the others are talking about a co-pay on top of your co-pay. Like to see them, it is $25 out of your pocket on top of your insurance co-pay and then whatever insurance pays them. I think they are just looking to see what they can do legally- like maybe do it as a pay-to-get-a-good-appointment-time fee or some thing like that.

Either way, looks like the price of playing poker is going up up up in my area for quality care...

The Doctor on TV- the other side of that is he wasn't in the DC metro area like I am where a $300K house means you better have an alarm, a gun, only go outside when it is light out and living on credit so $120K could have been a decent living to some extent.