Google and Sicko

Seems like there’s more infighting in the medical profession now as well…noted one case very recently in which a retina specialist chose to leave a clinic association and set up his own practice (per contractual “no compete” requirements) 80 miles away. He was immediately dropped from the list of covered providers by the largest health insurer in the region…which happens to be owned by the clinic association. Thus, if his established patients wish to continue seeing him, they have to pay out of pocket. And the clinic association has no other retinal specialist to take them — currently patients are referred to St. Louis, about a 200 mile drive compared to the aforementioned 80.

The acceptability of hard-nosed business practices, I think, have to be weighed against the potential damage done to the patients…whether anything was done “wrong” on the business side or not.