Quote:
Originally Posted by Jenn
Just does not seem like primary care physicians want to actually take care of you anymore (or maybe I need to fire mine). Instead they catch one little hint of something or hear a little complaint and instantly send you to the next doctor instead of actually trying to help you. Just seems like they do not practice general medicine anymore. If you have a little pain here or there they have to instantly send you to a specialist.
Just saying, is all! GRrrrrrrrrrrrr.......
|
My fiance is a PCP and I do a lot of work with a company that does a significant amount of industry research/reporting about medical care, doctor efficiency and a number of other metrics within the industry.
For starters... Blame those scum bag lawyers and the dirt bags that sue for whatever reason possible.
PCP's have the complication of coordinating pretty much *all* of their patient's care. Specialists will do a very focused assessment, provide treatment with necessary and then say "follow up with your primary". Then it's the PCP's burden to make sure that specialist's intervention doesn't interact with anything else going on (and is it almost always does).
When certain tests come back abnormal, the PCP has almost no choice legally but to send you to a specialist due to liability exposure. The few have ruined it for the many and, as such, PCP's have to operate on a 'cover-my-a#$' basis sometimes.
PCP's can't win. The government has been squeezing them more and more with lower reimbursements, stricter reporting requirements (that do not increase the quality of patient care) and higher malpractice insurance rates. On the other side, they have patients calling all day long about their stubbed toe and whining after a 30 minute phone call that they aren't getting enough attention. All of which has compounded into even great difficulties for the PCP thanks to Obamacare.
There's a saying in the medical field: "There are two kinds of doctors - those that have been sued and those that haven't been sued *yet*.