A study last year showed that the wait to see a dermatologist was significantly shorter if the need was cosmetic. When physician payment is tightly regulated, you can expect nothing less:
Like airlines that offer first-class and coach sections, dermatology is fast becoming a two-tier business in which higher-paying customers often receive greater pampering. In some dermatologists’ offices, freer-spending cosmetic patients are given appointments more quickly than medical patients for whom health insurance pays fixed reimbursement fees.
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Private self-pay patients pay full fare first class.
High end private insurance pays discount coach class.
Medicaid (and to an increasing extent Medicare) pay less than the cost of doing business, with no fuel increase.
So guess who get the hot towels, super comfy pillows, and personal care on this airline?
I’m much to cheap to pay to read the whole artcle, so…
Is this bad or wrong? I don’t really think so. A patient wanting something elective and willing to pay for it is relatively rare and frankly more valuable to the practice. VIP treatment seems like a no-brainer.
How is this different from what Pines and Meisel suggest about ER wait times?
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