A concierge physician to Stossel

Supporting the contention that more competition is needed in health care:

Healthy competition makes the doctor a better doctor and the patient a better patient. In the insurance / government directed healthcare delivery system, a mudpie is a mudpie. Every neurosurgeon is paid the same under medicare to operate on a brain tumor. Not only is there no real competition to do a better job .. there is NO means for a patient to step out a pay for “more care”. The reason that plastic surgery is competitive is ONLY because it is not covered under most health insurance policies allowing for a market based competitive economy.

Comments

Anonymous
That competitio is,of course,the reason plastic surgery is so reasonably priced.
Davis Liu, MD
Our healthcare crisis is not helped with concierge medicine practices. These are far from being a patch for an ailing system. There is NO evidence that the care they provide is better. When asked how consumers determine if the care they receive is high quality, 9 out of 10 use the following criteria: the skill, experience, and training of your doctors, the provider’s communication skills and willingness to listen and explain thoroughly, the degree of control you have in decisions made
regarding your health care, and the timeliness of getting care and treatments.
With more physicians adopted advanced scheduling with same day access and with evidence that within our country there are amazing healthcare organizations and medical providers delivering first-class healthcare consistently that does not require an annual retainer. The real trick is Americans must reward these organizations and medical groups by demanding to have these options available to them.
Americans need to understand all health care in this country is not created equal and that concierge medicine is not proven to be better. If consumers patronized these recognized exceptional medical providers the same way we use other consumer goods and services will change occur in this country.
Anonymous
“..all health care in this country is not created equal and that concierge medicine is not proven to be better.”
Quite true, but utterly beside the point. People pay for the perception that they are getting better medical care. More access and time with the same doctor is a compelling argument for most. For those who need continuing care, concierge medicine is a way of guaranteeing that you can see the same doctor, assuring continuity of care.
Davis Liu, MD
For the vast majority of Americans, concierge physicians do little to help the healthcare crisis. If people wish to pay for more for a perceived value of better care that is certainly within their right. What is clear is that there is no proof that the care is better.
If concierge physicians feel that primary care medicine needs transformation, then I completely agree. Already many organizations including the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians are working on making this critical field sustainable. I would ask those physicians to continue to engage these groups and offer ideas on how to improve primary care medicine. Concierge medicine is not a solution.
Davis Liu, MD
I would also note that from the original post, the physician reported charging $1800 per year per person in the concierge practice. With the panel limited to 500 people, the concierge physician makes $1 million per year.
Anonymous
“physician reported charging $1800 per year per person in the concierge practice. With the panel limited to 500 people, the concierge physician makes $1 million per year.”
You feel that this is wrong, don’t you? Why should a person not be able to charge what they like? If they find some-one to pay that for the serve, they must feel that the service is worth it. We are not talking about value rendered, we are talking about value perceived, and it is a very different thing. You’ve touched on it yourself, that these concierge doctors are tapping the market for a different model of health care, one that addresses what people miss in our current HMO model. If there is a market, some-one will fill it. If they price their services too high, they’ll be out of it soon enough. Let the market work, it will address this in its own way. The concierge doctors are taking a risk, and they know it. You can, if you choose, take the same risk, or accept your current situation and level of re-imbursement.
James
I was going to post a comment, but annonymous said everything I was going to say – and probably said it more succinctly. (refer to previous comment)

A concierge physician to Stossel

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