Hundreds of pissed off MDs gathered at a seminar in New York recently to find a way to beat the healthcare system, specifically the managed care system that they say underpays, overmanages and cheats both doctors and patients. New York has the highest percentage of doctors per patient in the U.S., 328 per 100,000 versus the national average of 281 per 100,000, and the highest concentration of world class hospitals. It's a good place to be a patient, but apparently a lousy place to run a medical practice.
Doctors, lawyers and consultants shared their views on patient care..
"Out of Network Practice: Opportunities and Benefits," sponsored by the Business Development Institute and Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd., showcased doctors who operate outside of the managed care system. Their patients pay on the spot and later file with their medical insurance carriers for reimbursement -- usually partial reimbursement. Patients get the doctor they want and therapies that are not subject to the care restrictions cooked up the the managed care beancounters; doctors charge what they need to make a living, do without expensive medical billing staff, give more time per visit to a smaller patient roster, and -- to hear them tell it -- get a better quality of life as the healers they always wanted to be.
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