Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob
That is actually a good point... and I think it would be one way to bring costs down... and actually allow Drs to make more money. We should get used to seeing health car professionals that are less trained or perhaps Drs in training. Sort of how the hospital has Interns, which are taught and supervised by Residents which are taught and supervised by Attendings, which are taught and supervised by chiefs and or peers.
Why does that only happen in the hospital. A Drs practice could perhaps have two or three Nurse Practitioners supervised by Physicians assistants, supervised by a single Dr. It would cost less money to see a Nurse, then a bit more to see the Assistant, then more to see the Dr. Generally there would be a reporting hierarcy just like you have in any other business. The CEO doesn't do all the work. He has VPs, which have managers. Etc.
This would be a good way to:
1. Keep costs down because you don't have to see the Dr every time.
2. Allow for a bigger pool of health care professionals. I think more people would get into health care if they didn't see the long Pre-Med, Med School, Residency ahead of them.
Bottom line, there are lots of ideas I think. We just do it the way we do it because of tradition.
BOb
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My doctor's office does have Nurse Practitioners and I like to see them when I have a problem like a sinus infection, bronchitis, whatever. They take more time and talk to me to find out what's going on. I see my doctor for my yearly physical, but for the rest, a nurse is fine with me. Of course, I'm pretty healthy (even for an overweight person) and my mom was a nurse, so I tend to be a bit biased.