FP Doc Can't Give Away Practice

[Thing1]

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/health/23doctor.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Interesting article, although I think we've all heard something like this before.

 

[Bartelby]

Times are changing, you can count me among the doctors who don't want to work around the clock. What surprises me is not that people today don't want that responsibility but that past generations did. Giving up pretty much all family and personal time and answering pages any time sounds miserable to me, although I really respect those who choose to do it.

I remember as a premed talking to one old school family doctor who told me how he worked over 80 hours/week throughout his career and that his wife raised their kids on her own. I thought to myself then "that will never be me," and I still feel that way now.

 

[VisionaryTics]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/health/23doctor.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Interesting article, although I think we've all heard something like this before.

Just nostalgia.

Even the doctor admits that patient outcomes are better and costs are lower in group practices. But I suppose that best practices don't make for sappy Sunday Magazine articles as much as photos of a Rockwellian dinosaur listening to heart sounds with his sleeves rolled up just so.

 

[bucks2010]

Culture was different then, too, obviously. Like the article said, the guy's wife does the accounting. I read a similar article that ran a few weeks ago that talked about how the FP mentioned would have patients over at his home for after-hours stuff. My favorite part of this article was when it mentioned how he would stitch up lacerations on his front porch after kids' baseball games. Makes it sound like he was a really important & meaningful part of the community.

Like the article mentioned, the large groups may have better "quality", at least by the measures currently in use, but I think there will always be some nostalgia for FP of days gone by that worked a ton but knew his patients & his community better than any of us probably ever will. It's a shame that this particular aspect of healthcare has gone by the wayside in the name of efficiency and cost-savings.

 

[Perrotfish]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/23/he...nted=1&_r=1&hp

Interesting article, although I think we've all heard something like this before.

I feel like they wanted to make this article about how sad it was that this older, better way of practicing medicine was dying off, but instead they ended up making a lot of good arguments for why group practices are better from both the patients' and the physicians' perspectives.

Like the article mentioned, the large groups may have better "quality", at least by the measures currently in use, but I think there will always be some nostalgia for FP of days gone by that worked a ton but knew his patients & his community better than any of us probably ever will. It's a shame that this particular aspect of healthcare has gone by the wayside in the name of efficiency and cost-savings.

You know, a larger practice doesn't necessarily mean an HMO. I worked with a rural Pediatric group practice that was literally just 3 Pediatricians and 2 NPs. They had the benifits of a larger practice (higher physician to employee ratio, relatively less cost from the physicial plant, vacation time, EMR, etc) but individual patients were still assigned to a particular physician for their entire childhood, the docs were still a huge part of the community, and no one was taking orders from any far off hospital administration.

BTW, does anyone think it's really impressive when you meet doctors who can remember their patients' names and personal stories based on a semi-annual 15 minute appointment? I'm going into fourth year and I still can't name at least a third of my classmates.

 

[gravitywave]

You know, a larger practice doesn't necessarily mean an HMO. I worked with a rural Pediatric group practice that was literally just 3 Pediatricians and 2 NPs. They had the benifits of a larger practice (higher physician to employee ratio, relatively less cost from the physicial plant, vacation time, EMR, etc) but individual patients were still assigned to a particular physician for their entire childhood, the docs were still a huge part of the community, and no one was taking orders from any far off hospital administration.

BTW, does anyone think it's really impressive when you meet doctors who can remember their patients' names and personal stories based on a semi-annual 15 minute appointment? I'm going into fourth year and I still can't name at least a third of my classmates.

yes, i've seen this, exactly as you describe. PC docs with this setup will tell you it's one of the best parts of their job, to hold that position in the community. they derive enormous satisfaction from that; it's really very inspiring.

 

[45408]

Great article, but those days are gone. I wouldn't want them back either.