Toni Brayer: “Young physicians do not want to deal with office employees or running a business. They expect a full schedule of patients to be there and an office administrator to deal with other business aspects like contracting with insurers, collecting payments and worrying about Medicare hassles.
The problem is that primary care practice and even some specialty practices have not been set up this way.”
Practices are going to be forced to change to have any success recruiting the new-generation lifestyle physicians. I have no doubt that it will happen, despite the resistance the retiring doctors are putting up.
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Having a raft of office employees is largely a result of the insurance and third-party payment culture. As third-party payment gets trimmed, we will approach the point that patients will be told to handle their own claim–the way they used to have to do–and pay the bill in full at the time of the visit.
Having a full schedule is more necessary when you have a large payroll to meet which is ncessary when you take the responsibility for submitting claims and pursuing payment out of the hands of the people who have bought the insurance. It becomes a cycle, and a vicious and unsustainable one when payments get cut.
Of course, new graduates have the prod of school debt to force them toward sweatshop practice where there is a crowded schedule and heavy if overworked support staff required.
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