It seems like they can direct book specialist referrals, so I guess that’s where the money is.
My doc hates it — they built a good practice and did a lot of innovative stuff. Now it sounds like 10/10 on the awful bureaucracy scale.
The only happy doctor I know is an eye doctor who pays the fine to Medicare instead of putting in an EMR. He keeps the staff minimal and avoids overhead like IT. According to him, all of his colleagues with the big systems are miserable, working 80 hour weeks and probably 50% have alcohol or other substance problems.
Is the doc you're speaking of a primary care doc or specialist? I've been working with some PCPs to try to find new models that allow them to remain independent without sacrificing too much financially. It's a tough needle to thread but I think happier, more independent primary care physicians are a good way to start righting the healthcare ship
My doc hates it — they built a good practice and did a lot of innovative stuff. Now it sounds like 10/10 on the awful bureaucracy scale.
The only happy doctor I know is an eye doctor who pays the fine to Medicare instead of putting in an EMR. He keeps the staff minimal and avoids overhead like IT. According to him, all of his colleagues with the big systems are miserable, working 80 hour weeks and probably 50% have alcohol or other substance problems.