Why Doctors Make Poor Employees The differences between an employed doctor and a doctor that works in a private practice can be significant. As an employee, a doctor works for an employer that determines what is most important. Usually, that’s productivity, profit, etc. It’s the mentality of “bean counters” and the dominant force when administrators run the business. In a private practice the doctor works directly for you. It’s not hard to imagine how the more direct relationship might work to a patient’s advantage. When the “bean counters” take over, employed doctors find they work for two masters. First comes the demands of the person that writes the doctors pay check and next the doctor’s patient. As an employee, a doctor can reasonably expect to hear something like, “Our numbers were down last month, we will need to speed things up. We will need to stop asking questions that encourage patients to talk.” With each new demand to increase productivity, time to practice good medicine diminishes. Soon enough good doctors become mediocre or worse as they stop asking questions like how are you feeling, what worries you, how is the family, etc. In Huntsville, Alabama Dr. Nancy Neighbors’ private practice continues the tradition of placing the patient first. It’s the type of practice that knows every member of the family based on the best that modern medicine has to offer. It is a practice in the old school tradition, in the way that most primary care physicians were once much closer to their patient’s lives. The underlying motivation is one of the oldest and soundest imaginable – physicians providing patients one-on-one individualized care. As Neighbors puts it, “Just imagine what kind of doctor you could have – and how rewarding it would be – if your doctor could be your doctor all the time, in every context, and you knew that no one else was preventing your doctor from doing the very best for you.” Getting quality medical service will increasingly require selecting a doctor that offers a more personalized service. For a fee, seniors can contract with a personal care/concierge doctor that offers prompt access, adequate time for appointments, options for calling them directly, time to make good medical decisions, and advocacy when seeking care beyond the primary care doctor’s office. In Huntsville, Alabama, many view the opportunity to obtain personal care as a positive since it provides their doctor time to listen, make the best medical decisions and teach them what they need to know rather than 5-7 minute appointments where healthcare needs get kicked down the road. By providing adequate appointment time and care, this new type of personal care doctor helps keep their patients maintain the best quality of life, stay out of the hospital and avoid unnecessary procedures. Tell Me More about Concierge Physicians in Huntsville, Alabama. Exit |