Solo practices let doctors spend more time with patients
Published: 2010-01-19 16:51:29
Author: Chris Swingle | Rochester Democrat & Chronicle | January 19, 2010
When Dr. Linda Lee sees patients, she brings them from the waiting room, typically spends a half hour with them, cleans up the exam room and submits the insurance claims online. She's the one who returns phone voicemails, and she gives patients her cell phone number for urgent after-hours needs.
She has no nurse, no billing staff and no answering service. She only has a part-time secretary to digitally scan records that still arrive on paper at her paperless office.
They rely on technology to fill the gaps of having little or no staff. Patients typically schedule their own appointments online. Medical records are electronic. The goal is to provide the care that patients want, when they want it. The physicians minimize expenses so that they don't have to see as many patients per day. Health professionals such as therapists, acupuncturists and massage therapists have used the low-overhead model for years.
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Published: 2010-01-19 16:51:29
Author: Chris Swingle | Rochester Democrat & Chronicle | January 19, 2010
When Dr. Linda Lee sees patients, she brings them from the waiting room, typically spends a half hour with them, cleans up the exam room and submits the insurance claims online. She's the one who returns phone voicemails, and she gives patients her cell phone number for urgent after-hours needs.
She has no nurse, no billing staff and no answering service. She only has a part-time secretary to digitally scan records that still arrive on paper at her paperless office.
The Rochester family physician's 5-year-old, low-overhead, solo practice is a stark contrast to the hurry-up, assembly-line format she found in large medical practices. "You basically had to see a patient every 10 minutes," said Lee. "How can you address the patient's medical problems in that short a time?"
Few physicians work solo these days. Even fewer do so with little or no staff, because health care has gotten more complicated than the old days of the country doctor. But at least eight primary care doctors in the area — in Perinton, East Rochester, Pittsford, Gates, Canandaigua and three in Rochester — are taking this stripped-down approach, termed "ideal medical practice," trying to recapture the traditional doctor-patient relationship in what they see as an ailing health care system.They rely on technology to fill the gaps of having little or no staff. Patients typically schedule their own appointments online. Medical records are electronic. The goal is to provide the care that patients want, when they want it. The physicians minimize expenses so that they don't have to see as many patients per day. Health professionals such as therapists, acupuncturists and massage therapists have used the low-overhead model for years.
Full story