Category: Patient-centered Care

Posted in Access to healthcare, Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), American Presidents, big government, Consumer-Driven Health Care, Direct-Pay Medicine, Direct-Pay Practice Models, Economic Issues, Free-Market, Government Regulations, Health Insurance, Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Health Savings Accounts (HSA's), Healthcare financing, Individual Market, Individual ObamaCare Market, Insurance subsidies, Medical Costs, Medical Practice Models, News From Washington, Patient Choice, Patient-centered Care, Policy Issues, Price Tansparency, primary care, Subsidies, Uncategorized

Fund the Money Pit or Move to Sustainable Patient-Centered Care: Rethinking Health Care Policy | RealClearHealth

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

Despite proposals from Biden to double-down on the current dysfunction, the Republicans have not coalesced around one plan, though many market-friendly reforms have been floated. Given the obvious fatal flaws of the Affordable Care Act and lack of political will to confront the real cost-drivers, many have lost faith in a government solution for a problem that government largely caused.

Fortunately, the private sector has brought forward new ideas for health care reforms, and these promise access to affordable and innovative care on our terms. Alternative market-driven options exist that improve access, reduce costs, and move patients into closer relationships with their doctors instead of with government bureaucracies.

https://www.realclearhealth.com/articles/2020/11/30/fund_the_money_pit_or_move_to_sustainable_patient-centered_care_rethinking_health_care_policy_111144.html

Posted in Access to healthcare, American Exceptionalism, Consumer-Driven Health Care, Dependency, Direct-Pay Medicine, Direct-Pay Practice Models, Doctor-Patient Relationship, Economic Issues, Free Society, government incompetence, Government Regulations, Health Insurance, Healthcare financing, Independent Physicians, Medical Costs, Medical Practice Models, News From Washington, DC & Related Shenanigans, Organizational structure, Patient Choice, Patient Safety, Patient-centered Care, Policy Issues, primary care, Quality, Technology, Telemedicine Trends, Third-Party Free Practices, Uncategorized

Shelter In-Place Care: Another “Box Checked” for the Value of Direct Primary Care

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

HEADLINE:

FCC Unveils COVID-19 Telehealth Program, Updates Connected Care Pilot

The Federal Communications Commission is using $200 million in funding from the CARES Act to launch a new program to help providers access the broadband resources they need to support telehealth programs.

Wow, the government has discovered remote digital technology medical care!  Although, maybe a little late. What would we do without those innovative minds in D.C. ?!?

But there’s a better solution that’s been up and running for more than a decade; private citizens being free to act and chose what services they value.  It is a solution which occurred organically when an innovative supply side acted to solve other people’s problems within a cooperative marketplace driven by mutual benefit.  It is called Direct Primary Care (DPC). And it is only possible because we still have some semblance of healthcare freedom within our society.  No thanks to Washington, D.C.

But step aside, the FCC with money to burn is coming to the rescue after COVID is already in full crisis mode.

The DPC Consumer Guide -- Now Available for office/clinic use and and an educational/marketing resource for your patients.Never mind that Direct Primary Care physicians have routinely integrated remote care technology platforms into their practices for a more than a decade.  And set aside the fact that revenue in a DPC business model doesn’t rely on office visits (the opposite of social distancing) to trigger a billable encounter, the claim against which is paid out of a grossly over-priced pre-paid 3rd party fund that we call health insurance.  Instead, the Direct Primary Care physician is paid to be available to solve problems, answer questions, triage illness/injury, provide treatment and advice via the most appropriate venue for each patient.

And last, no disrespect meant to the media outlet below for featuring this story.  They are just reporting the healthcare news, as is their mission.

logos

https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/fcc-unveils-covid-19-telehealth-program-updates-connected-care-pilot

Posted in Access to healthcare, advance-pricing, Direct-Pay Medicine, Direct-Pay Practice Models, Entrepreneurs, Healthcare financing, Independent Physicians, Medical Costs, Medical Practice Models, out-of-pocket costs, Patient Choice, Patient Safety, Patient-centered Care, Policy Issues, Price Tansparency, Quality, Uncategorized

Transparent Pricing for Medical Emergencies | The Emergency Center

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

What the status quo apologists and the naysayers said was impossible, is a reality:

Emergency services with transparent pricing and NO surprise bills!

“Always staffed with board-certified physicians, ICU- and ER-trained nurses, X-ray technologists and helpful administrative personnel, The Emergency Center offers the same comprehensive emergency care and treatment as a hospital ER, without the wait. State-of-the-art CT, ultrasound, x-ray, and lab services on-site combined with compassionate care provides an unparalleled patient experience.

The Emergency Center and OnDEC Health have partnered together to offer direct contracts for emergency room visits, urgent and primary care, plus telemedicine. OnDEC Health’s innovative direct contracting opportunities save employers significant dollars on ER claims, while offering their members 24/7, no-wait access to premier concierge style freestanding ERs and more.”

Peyton Vooletich

Director of Business Development

https://www.theemergencycenter.com/fort-worth-er/

Posted in Access to healthcare, advance-pricing, Direct-Pay Medicine, Direct-Pay Practice Models, Entrepreneurs, Healthcare financing, Independent Physicians, Medical Costs, Medical Practice Models, out-of-pocket costs, Patient Choice, Patient Safety, Patient-centered Care, Policy Issues, Price Tansparency, Quality, Uncategorized

Transparent Pricing for Medical Emergencies | The Emergency Center

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

What the status quo apologists and the naysayers said was impossible, is a reality:

Emergency services with transparent pricing and NO surprise bills!

“Always staffed with board-certified physicians, ICU- and ER-trained nurses, X-ray technologists and helpful administrative personnel, The Emergency Center offers the same comprehensive emergency care and treatment as a hospital ER, without the wait. State-of-the-art CT, ultrasound, x-ray, and lab services on-site combined with compassionate care provides an unparalleled patient experience.

The Emergency Center and OnDEC Health have partnered together to offer direct contracts for emergency room visits, urgent and primary care, plus telemedicine. OnDEC Health’s innovative direct contracting opportunities save employers significant dollars on ER claims, while offering their members 24/7, no-wait access to premier concierge style freestanding ERs and more.”

Peyton Vooletich

Director of Business Development

https://www.theemergencycenter.com/fort-worth-er/

Posted in Access to healthcare, advance-pricing, Consumer-Driven Health Care, Direct-Pay Medicine, Direct-Pay Practice Models, Doctor-Patient Relationship, Economic Issues, Health Insurance, Healthcare financing, Independent Physicians, Medical Costs, Medical Practice Models, out-of-pocket costs, Patient Choice, Patient Compliance, Patient Safety, Patient-centered Care, Policy Issues, primary care, The Quadruple Aim, Third-Party Free Practices, Uncategorized, Wait times to see a doctor

More Patients Turning to ‘Direct Primary Care’ | Medscape

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

Christine Lehmann, MA

February 11, 2020

Having quick access to a primary care doctor 24/7 is very appealing to Mick Lowderman, 56, who is married with two children, ages 10 and 8. He pays a monthly membership fee to AtlasMD, a direct primary care practice in Wichita, KS.

Primary care is built on the long-term relationship between clinicians and patients. A 10- to 15-minute patient visit doesn’t support that relationship, Sullivan says.

When Kevin Boyd, 64, fell on his stairs in Wichita and broke three ribs, he didn’t go the emergency room. Instead, he called Umbehr, who told him to come to his office. He referred Boyd nearby for an X-ray and dispensed pain medications at his office. The total cost was $70.

In contrast, the first time Boyd fell and broke his ribs, he had Blue Cross Blue Shield and drove himself to the ER, where he saw the ER doctor, a radiologist for an MRI, and got shots for his pain. The total bill was $14,000, and he paid $2,600.

“I don’t put off care the way I used to because of the money I save,” says Boyd, who joined AtlasMD in 2015.
For his monthly membership fee of $75, Boyd gets several benefits, including unlimited 24/7 access to Umbehr by text, email, or phone, extended same- or next-day office visits, and free diagnostic tests and office procedures, such as EKGs, DEXA scans, and body fat analysis. If Boyd gets really sick and needs a house call, or if he needs a phone consult when traveling, those are also included in the fee.
Posted in Access to healthcare, Crony Capitalism, Economic Issues, Healthcare financing, Influence peddling, Medical Costs, Medical Practice Models, Organizational structure, Patient Choice, Patient Safety, Patient-centered Care, Policy Issues, Quality, Uncategorized

Surgeon Sues Orlando Health Over ‘Forced’ Referrals | Medpage Today

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

Jay Wolfson, PhD, a health policy expert at the University of South Florida in Tampa, said this case “goes to the heart of physician clinical autonomy.”

Hospitals use various methods to ensure that physicians refer patients to its own entities, including non-compete agreements that prohibit doctors from practicing medicine in a set geographic area around their place of employment during their contract, or even after termination.

A 2018 survey of 2,000 doctors in five states found that 45% of primary care physicians were bound by this sort of non-compete agreement, though hospital-based physicians are less likely to be restricted by these clauses.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/84571

Posted in British National Health Service, Disease Prevention, Doctor-Patient Relations, Education, Evidence-based Medicine, Medical conditions and illness, outcomes, outcomes measurement, Patient Compliance, Patient Safety, Patient-centered Care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality, Uncategorized, Unsettled Science

Watch “Evidence Based Medicine Has Been Hijacked by Dr Aseem Malhotra | PHC Conference 2019” on YouTube

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

Insightful and fascinating glimpse into how medical science has been, and continues to be, distorted by special interests and ideological cabals to the detriment of patients.

Posted in Disease Prevention, Education, Evidence-based Medicine, outcomes, outcomes measurement, Patient Choice, Patient Safety, Patient-centered Care, Prevention, Protocols, Quality, Uncategorized

Dietary carbohydrate restriction as the first approach in diabetes management: Critical review and evidence base – ScienceDirect

Posted on by Forum for Healthcare Freedom

“The benefits of carbohydrate restriction in diabetes are immediate and well documented. Concerns about the efficacy and safety are long term and conjectural rather than data driven.

Dietary carbohydrate restriction reliably reduces high blood glucose, does not require weight loss (although is still best for weight loss), and leads to the reduction or elimination of medication. It has never shown side effects comparable with those seen in many drugs.

Here we present 12 points of evidence supporting the use of low-carbohydrate diets as the first approach to treating type 2 diabetes and as the most effective adjunct to pharmacology in type 1. They represent the best-documented, least controversial results. The insistence on long-term randomized controlled trials as the only kind of data that will be accepted is without precedent in science.

The seriousness of diabetes requires that we evaluate all of the evidence that is available. The 12 points are sufficiently compelling that we feel that the burden of proof rests with those who are opposed.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899900714003323