First there is increasingly less reimbursement for the non-procedural aspects of medicine, then more paperwork and now a requirement from the California Department of Managed Care that doctors see patients within 10-15 days. Yes, the word require was used.
Every spring when we venture to southern California to ride bikes it is impossible not to wonder about living there with the ocean, mountains, blue sky and beautiful people. Since real life is unlike a biking vacation a job would be required and this would mean practicing medicine in a state that has a “Department of Managed Care.” Kentucky has a few downsides, but mandated time requirements to see patients seems far off in the distance.
There is mention in the piece that the HMO’s will likely require more “medical staff.” No problem, a mandate on when to see your patients will serve as an enticing recruiting tool.
At the risk of monotonous repetition, said stories are the trees; the forest is the de-incentivizing of medicine as a career and the looming shortage of talented young people to do the doctoring.
JMM
2 replies on “How is this possible?”
At least California got their med-mal trial lawyers under control.
We can't do that in Arizona because they are protected in our state constitution.
-Steve
Steve,
Thanks for the note. A nice site you have. It is much easier to frame the problem that is obesity, than to provide such a worthy solution like you have done.
It seems, or I wonder if there is a price to pay for working in beautiful places like AZ and CA? If there were not downsides in these places there would be no doctors in KY, MS or AL.
JMM