I personally have never heard of putting a limit on what type of patient is seen and how many of a given pathology are seen per day. We have an extremely busy practice with multiple doctors, multiple offices and a lot of different staff answering the phones and booking appointments. Our staff would go crazier than they already are if they had to start limiting specific types of patients to a pre set number per day.
More importantly, I'm not sure any of my partners would buy into that idea. By the nature of our training and skills, each member of our practice has developed a slightly different following. I may see 4-5 palliative care patients per 35-40 patients seen. But I will see any patient on my schedule no matter what the diagnosis. In my opinion it all balances out, sort of the idea of I'll see now or I'll see you later, so I'd rather see you now.
We find it much easier to pay our bills by treating all patients and not screening patients to allow X number of a given pathology per day. Not sure I understand that concept. Every patient that enters your office is seeking your care in some shape or form, and each one of these patients adds to your bottom line.
So the next time that 4th palliative care patient walks into your office and it exceeds your limit of "3", please send the patient to our practice. We will be happy to treat the patient!
