This is what you get when incentive is based on volume, not quality:
Dr. Bea Karing has had her own practice for about 18 years. Her practice has grown and she is generally known and respected by patients and colleagues as a caring dedicated internist. Her patients range from a new college student who is generally healthy but has had a hard time adjusting to school, to a young woman with a 15-month-old child and a career that is becoming increasingly more difficult to juggle, to an elderly patient who is having difficulty affording her medicines and is often alone since the death of her spouse.Her schedule is often long and packed with activity. On a regular day in the office she sees about 35 patients. She works at least five days a week. Since Dr. Karing is paid a fee for each patient and service she provides, she has to produce a certain number of visits a day to cover the business expenses. Since insurance companies don’t adequately reimburse for time, efficiency is key to good patient care. Night and weekend emergency calls are alternated with another practice in the community.
