15 doctors fired in Illinois to be replaced by NPs

[MedicineZ0Z]

15 Docs Fired From Illinois Health System to Be Replaced With NPs

A leaked internal memo says they will be replaced with advanced practice nurses as 'patients have made it very clear that they want less costly care and convenient access for lower-acuity issues.'

www.medscape.com

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[ace_inhibitor111]

This is being spammed everywhere but I hope it wakes people up. Too many physicians believe they’re invincible and aren’t taking enough steps to protect the profession.

 

[nimbus]

Now they can start concierge practice.

 

[operaman]

Gonna have to give this article a yawn. This is clearly a hospital system in terrible financial trouble doing whatever it can to slow the hemorrhage of money. I’m sure the C-suite will reap some nice bonuses over this if it work but they deserve it if it keeps the whole hospital from shutting down.

Frankly I’m surprised they were staffing their walk in clinics with physicians at all! All of our remote walk in clinics are staffed primarily by mid levels and this seems to be true most places. It’s a glorified Cvs minute clinic; it doesn’t really need an MD.

Yes it sucks for the docs getting canned but come on, they had to know the writing was on the wall. Any ***** can do the math and figure out what they are billing and likely collecting relative to their salary. Our docs get quarterly print outs of their exact numbers and it’s easy to see if you’re generating enough revenue to justify your position; im sure most places do something similar. My guess is these docs have been losing money for awhile.

 

[deleted407021]

Commodification of healthcare is a huge issue that really permeates everything.
That said, stories like this are one of the reasons I’m probably going to subspecialize into something high acuity.

 

[PieOHmy]

Commodification of healthcare is a huge issue that really permeates everything.
That said, stories like this are one of the reasons I’m probably going to subspecialize into something high acuity.

what can you possible specialize in ? ALl they have to do is decrease your reimbursements ? what are you gonna do?
get it from the patients? Patients dont even have enough money to make their car payments

 

[RangerBob]

If this was an ED or PCP clinic it’d be more upsetting, but for a walk in clinic it just doesn’t make sense to employ physicians there. It’s also a waste of resources-put those MDs in the ED or in a PCP practice. Their training is wasted in an urgent care center, unless it’s one MD overseeing 4 or 5 NPs.

Still, I feel bad these docs are losing their jobs. It sucks to lose a job in any field.

This story is yet another reason we need into business for ourselves. Healthcare systems dictate everything if you’re an employee. If you’re independent, you have more bargaining power. Maybe not a ton, but more.

 

[Ultimax]

It is an urgent care, and thanks God for that. I am an NP, and I cannot handle true emergency cases. God forbids if I misdiagnose a meningitis case as a sore throat.

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

If this was an ED or PCP clinic it’d be more upsetting, but for a walk in clinic it just doesn’t make sense to employ physicians there. It’s also a waste of resources-put those MDs in the ED or in a PCP practice. Their training is wasted in an urgent care center, unless it’s one MD overseeing 4 or 5 NPs.

Still, I feel bad these docs are losing their jobs. It sucks to lose a job in any field.

This story is yet another reason we need into business for ourselves. Healthcare systems dictate everything if you’re an employee. If you’re independent, you have more bargaining power. Maybe not a ton, but more.

It is an urgent care, and thanks God for that. I am an NP, and I cannot handle true emergency cases. God forbids if I misdiagnose a meningitis case as a sore throat.

Why in the world are we not allowing med students who don't match work in these places then? They would be vastly more competent as well.

 

[thumbz]

I had an NP send a patient to the ED last night to get hypertonic saline for their asymptomatic sodium of 128 (down 2 points from their baseline sodium of 130).

Bundled payments are going to kill the NP/PA transition because they just refer everyone downstream. It'll be cheaper to see me for your chest pain then get a cardiology consult ordered by the NP who sees you and your HEART score of 1.

 

[RangerBob]

Why in the world are we not allowing med students who don't match work in these places then? They would be vastly more competent as well.

That’s a while different story. But allowing medical students to practice medicine without even an internship dilutes the competence of our field, which I think hurts us in the long run. Right now our training is what sets us apart from midlevels.

 

[FutureInternist]

I had an NP send a patient to the ED last night to get hypertonic saline for their asymptomatic sodium of 128 (down 2 points from their baseline sodium of 130).

Bundled payments are going to kill the NP/PA transition because they just refer everyone downstream. It'll be cheaper to see me for your chest pain then get a cardiology consult ordered by the NP who sees you and your HEART score of 1.

Well..... I would venture a guess that MOST patients have only 1 heart.

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

I had an NP send a patient to the ED last night to get hypertonic saline for their asymptomatic sodium of 128 (down 2 points from their baseline sodium of 130).

Bundled payments are going to kill the NP/PA transition because they just refer everyone downstream. It'll be cheaper to see me for your chest pain then get a cardiology consult ordered by the NP who sees you and your HEART score of 1.

Had a patient sent to the ED by a PA for anemia with a hemoglobin of 11.5 and chronic dyspnea with exertion. PA even wrote in her note she would recommend admission.
Some of the regular daily things you see from midlevels is jaw dropping. It's like they're trolling the patients and the system.