In my last post, I talked about the motivations behind the way many physicians practice medicine and the importance as a patient to understand the economic dynamics behind your doctor’s practice. In essence, your physician needs to make a living while helping people get better. He really is not going to go above and beyond his call of duty unless he is either emotionally, intellectually, or financially compelled to do so. Read more →

I’m am more than occasionally approached by a friend or associate with complaints about how their doctor does not give the medical care they feel they deserve. The most common complaints are that the doctor does not spend enough time with the patient during office visits, does not address all of the patient’s medical problems, and does not have enough availability for semi-urgent appointments. Read more →

Medicare recently came out with its “Never Pay” guidelines. The presumed motivation is the exponentially rising cost of medical care over the years that payers cannot sustain. The largest payer in the world is the U.S. Government in the form of Medicare payments. In an effort to reduce costs, Medicare has been steadily dinging reimbursements to physicians and hospitals in every medical specialty. Read more →