Your Doctor May Dump You

Beware of any non-invoice-type mailings from your physician. That fancy envelope may contain a thinly veiled blackmail attempt to extort more cash from your already strapped budget!

It just happened to me---and I should point out the title of this blog may be misleading, because, in a way, I dumped my doctor.

Why?

It’s a new breed of medical greed, disguised as the VIP treatment. In fact, it’s even called MDVIP (although there may be other for-profit outfits like it out there with different names).

Here’s how it works:

1) The initial letter from your doctor attempts to break the news slowly. Your overworked (and apparently underpaid) physician is “excited” to announce a new level of healthcare for you! This mailing is followed by invitations to little wine and cheese get-togethers at local country clubs to answer your questions (and put the hard sell on you). Fancy brochures, FAQ’s that downplay your financial obligation and other materials are employed to convince you that this new level of medical care is indispensable.

2) Acknowledging the lousy service we consumers of healthcare already get, the blame is attributed to having too many patients and too little time for individual attention. But, fear not! Your doctor has the solution!

3) By signing up for MDVIP, you retain the same doctor, yet now you can get same day or next day appointments! You will receive an extensive series of tests in an annual “wellness” program! You’ll receive a mini-CD with all your medical information for your wallet or purse—and---get this, your OWN personal health website!

4) And…..oh yeah, the yearly cost to you is a mere $1,500---on TOP of whatever you are already forking over for healthcare. This fee is NOT covered by health insurance.


Such a deal.

I can understand why the doctors are all for it. They slash their patient list to 600 total. At $1,500 per patient, that’s a cool $900,000 per YEAR in new revenue! Imagine being able to cut your workload and still pull in that kind of dough!

My guess is that the physicians cough up (pardon the pun) maybe half of this amount in order to be affiliated with MDVIP. Still, $450,000 is not a bad start to their kid’s college fund—every year, no?

The other chunk-whatever it is---goes to another medical corporation whose real interest is recruiting doctors who in turn recruit patients. It’s a pretty good racket.

Call me a cynic, but most insidious is the marketing campaign that touts all of these “advancements” as being in MY best interest!

Please.

Instead of treating disease—it’s about being proactive about my health—making “wellness” the goal. So……..why wasn’t that the goal before? Can they not accomplish this without my extra fifteen hundred bucks?


Check out the “news” segment where the doctor interviewed spouts the party line—and then ask yourself: “Wasn’t he supposed to be doing all of these things all along?”



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca4xjttBghc

So, what happens when you decline such a tempting offer?
You get dumped.

I like my doctor, but I am not yet-thankfully, a huge consumer of healthcare. I go for an annual physical, which goes something like this:

a) I arrive on time or ahead of time, but I still wait to be seen. I could be the first appointment of the day, yet still I wait….and wait.

b) A nurse takes my vitals, weight and blood pressure and then I am ushered into another room…to wait again, this time in my underwear. It is often a long wait.

c) My doctor arrives, runs the checkup for about 15 minutes or so and that’s it.

In the end, I have spent more time waiting than being waited on, as the medical profession as an industry has no respect for the fact that their patient’s time is just as valuable as theirs.

I tried hard to envision how my experience would be enhanced for the extra fee. Maybe I would get a cup of espresso while sitting around in my skivvies.

I like my doctor. He’s a good guy and I believe that he is knowledgeable and truly cares about his patients. In short, despite my limited contact with him yearly, I feel that he has provided a decent service in keeping me healthy.

But I can’t afford him anymore. And frankly, even if I could, I’m not sure I should. You see, there is something inherently wrong in an association that recruits physicians to strong-arm their patients into a program they may not want. If it were an option, I could choose to enjoy the increased level of service. Or…I could stay where I am, happily seeing my doctor one or two times a year.

“Sorry, Mr. Moore…that’s not an option”
Too bad the Hippocratic oath didn’t address the refusal to serve those who are not prepared to write a big bonus check to the doctor.

So, I’m outa here—as I offer a new twist to the saying , “Doctor, heal thyself”

How about, “Doctor, steal for thyself?”

Anyone know a good physician to recommend to a fifty-some DJ? I’m all ears.


If you’d like my blog in your box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com