Re: query for physicians

From: Dee Randall (deedoveyatshenteldotnet)
Date: 07/18/04 

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 16:57:31 -0400

"Howard McCollister" <nospam@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:40fa8fe9$0$65525$45beb828@newscene.com...
>
> "Dee Randall" <deedoveyatshenteldotnet> wrote in message
> news:10fl0n26qsns33@corp.supernews.com...
> > >
> > It is my opinion that office staff overhead cost should absorb this
fee;
> I
> > know the argument -- there's a limit to what they can absorb; you see,
> they
> > have to pay insurance costs for malpractice fees, etc, etc etc.
> >
> > One doctor I know charges you $10 or $20 if the pharmacy has to call
her
> > for renewal of a prescription. Also she wrote a letter to all patients
> that
> > she can't work 24/7. I think doctors now days want to claim "victim"
> > status, always whining.
> >
> > Yes, I think $20 is excessive for filling out a form.
> >
> > $$$$$
> >
>
>
> All of a physician's office expenses are increasing at an significant
rate.
> Malpractice, employee salaries, employee health insurance, rent, taxes not
> to mention the cost of maintaining/acquiring/updating necessary diagnostic
> and therapeutic equipment. And, importantly, there is the increasing
> "bloating" of the office staff necessary to handle the ever-increasing
> volume of paperwork, new insurance policies, diagnostic coding and the
> latest weekly new HICFA regulations.
>
> These expenses are mounting dramatically while reimbursement from ALL of
the
> third-party payors is declining at an amazing rate. Physicians can't raise
> their fees to cover these increasing expenses like other private
businesses
> can, so the ONLY way they can offset the increasing expense is by
increasing
> volume. This in turn means 10 minute office visits, high pressure days,
and
> generally, no more Marcus Welby. Sorry about that, but the only
alternative
> to increasing patient volume throughput is to go out of business. Period.
> There just ain't enough money in the system to accomodate Marcus Welby
> levels of patient service.
>
> The volume of forms to fill out is increasing too. There is no end to the
> information that all sorts of entities want the doctor to provide. Each
form
> requires pulling the patient's chart, reviewing, filling out the form. It
> takes time, and in the doctor business, time is money. Not to mention the
> fact that most patients bring the form with them, hand it to you, and tell
> you they need it TODAY and want to take it with them. It would be nice to
> just have office staff do it, but there are too many questions on these
> stupid forms that only the physician can answer. And then there are also
the
> endless surveys and patient questionnaires that the state, federal
> government, worker's comp, tumor boards etc etc etc wants us to fill out
> too. For free, while taking time out of our day to do so. The forms to
fill
> out, the questionnairs, the surveys (all for free, according to Dee)
> decrease the volume of patients that can be seen, thereby decreasing the
> only source of revenue for the office, thereby increasing the gap between
> expenses and revenue.
>
> Like most people who are totally ignorant of the medical business, Dee
> thinks that "office staff overhead cost should absorb this fee", but just
> like HICFA, third party payors, and health care policy kibitzers, she
offers
> no solution to the very basic business question of where the money to
cover
> those expenses is going to come from.
>
> HMc

Yes, HMc I am totally ignorant of the medical "business." I will offer a
solution to the very basic business question of where the money to cover
those expenses is going to come from. Out of your income. When is the last
time any person has been to the doctor and looked at the charge (yes, I KNOW
that fee is to cover all of the business expenses) and said to themselves
that they were glad they didn't have to pay for all of the cost because they
had insurance, or if they had no insurance, they probably had to forego an
extra visit. I think physician's charges are too excessive. To add
another small charge seems like a gouge to me. I think filling out forms
for camp, that sort of thing probably could be charged for, but prescription
charges? give me a break!

Yes, we can't all have the knowledge of the medical business, so I guess
that's why we need physicans to give us a paragraph or two of larnin' now
and then to set us straight.

thanks,
dee

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