Healthcare vs Medical Care: Knowing the Difference is Powerful

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healthcare vs medical care

We seem to hear a lot in the news about “Healthcare”.
When I hear the news say “Health Care for everyone”, I cringe because we really don’t want Healthcare, we want Medical Care.

Let’s look at the differences between the two.

Medical Care has never been better.

Getting MEDICAL CARE means everything to you. Medical Care brings us new procedures, new remedies, new medications, and surgeries we never dreamed possible. Not to mention the vaccinations that are constantly coming out to protect us from disease and cancer in the first place. And on top of that, we also have the incredible ability to prevent diseases like cancer when we never thought we could.  It used to be that your doctor knew everything about you. We could talk to our doctors about anything for as long as we wanted. They found the solutions to what ailed us. This was the foundation of Medical Care. Medical Care is a profession, an actual service and the trust lies between patient and doctor.

Healthcare has never been worse.

Healthcare is not a profession. It is a FOR-PROFIT business. Healthcare is about administration costs, CEO salaries, insurance denials, and insurance premiums. It is a business which hires doctors, nurses, billing clerks, hospitalists, medical assistants, etc. The one person who actually brings in the revenue for this company is the doctor, PA, NP. Their visits and orders bring in the revenue. All others, from CEO salaries to nurses, maintenance, billing clerks, and ads are at the mercy of what these few people can bring in.

Look at these real-life examples:

Example 1: Medical Care

Dr. A has her own practice.  This is called a “solo” practice. Her patient, Mary, sees her. She knows all of Mary’s medical conditions. Mary always gets “same-day visits” or a phone call back from Dr. A. Office visits are 45-60 minutes on each visit with Mary. She knows Mary’s family caregivers, too. This doctor has a receptionist.

Here’s the KEY: she does not accept insurance.

Dr. A takes a monthly fee of $125/month. This monthly fee is paid automatically, like a gym membership.  Mary can see, call, or text Dr. A as often as she wants. The fee is dependent on age, from $18 to $150 a month. Dr. A will call in prescriptions and take phone calls because she does not need Mary to come in the office to be paid. Those are insurance rules and she does not take insurance. Mary still keeps her insurance in case she needs specialists or hospitalizations.

NOTE: This is not “concierge” medicine but a practice modeled after pre-insurance days called “direct primary care”.  Concierge medicine is classified as a “direct” practice that also takes insurance.  Those fees are $500 – $5000 a month.

Take a look at these differences.
Example 2: Healthcare

Dr. B works for a large healthcare company. He gets a salary (plus a “bonus” commission) for his production.  If he orders more tests, more procedures, sees more patients, he gets a bigger “bonus commission”, but this is a “carrot” to get the doctor to produce more.

The office has a staff of 3-4 receptionists, 1-2 billing and insurance clerks, 5-6 nurses or medical assistants, one office manager, the boss who reviews everyone’s evaluations, salaries and the people above the boss who make policy and profit for the company, the CEOs.

Therefore, he must work harder and longer to support all these employees in the company. Robert is a patient of Dr. B’s. He waits 3-4 months to get in to see him because Dr. B must be booked to see 20-50 patients a day. Robert will see him for 6 minutes. Dr. B may order more tests, and ask Robert to come back. Robert will still pay a his deductible or co-pays and his insurance premiums.

These “healthcare” doctors are burning out at an alarming rate. They didn’t get into medicine to “chase the bonus carrot”, but to help you.  Most of them have medical school debt, leaving them no choice.

Here are the resources: Why physicians burn out.  I find it ironic that the studies to prevent burnout are suggesting the exact thing direct primary care physicians already do.
To find a direct primary care physician in your area: Direct Primary Care doctors in your area. Go with “Pure” first.  Hybrid means concierge and may charge too much but check their prices if you have no choice.
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About the Author

Do you feel frustrated with your medical care? Do doctors spend 5 minutes with you, push you out of the office, with you wondering what's going to happen? Does your insurance deny paying? You're not alone. I'm frustrated, too. This is a growing trend in healthcare. Having seen pre-insurance medicine (yes, my dad was an old country doctor), I grew up watching him spend time with his patients, giving them the best care he had to offer. I saw families trust him to help them through hospitalizations and the next crisis. As a patient advocate, my job is to see that you get the right diagnosis, the right treatment plans, and the right supplies and education to make good decisions about your health. More importantly, I will teach you the tricks of the healthcare trade. We need more healthcare consumer protection, especially for chronic illnesses like diabetes. This is what I am passionate about. I make it happen every day with thousands of patients who now know what I know about beating the healthcare system and getting the best patient care...Patient Best.

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This blog provides general information and discussions about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment. If you or any other person has a medical concern, you should consult with your healthcare provider or seek other professional medical treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something that has been read on this blog or in any linked materials. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or emergency services immediately. The opinions and views expressed on this blog and website have no relation to those of any academic, hospital, health practice or other institution. Nor does this material constitute a provider-patient relationship between the reader and the author. 

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