Better Health: Smart Health Commentary

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Patient Follow-Up: What Doctors Can Learn From Dentists

May 11th, 2010 by StevenWilkinsMPH in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research
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I have to give my dentist credit. He and his staff know when I am due for a cleaning and call me to schedule an appointment without fail. They also call to remind me the day before an appointment. Many dentists, I understand, do similar kinds of things for their patients.

As a patient, I like being reminded — it’s a great service. I also like the fact that someone’s looking out for me. From a business perspective it makes a lot of sense as well. Fewer “no shows,” more cleanings, more billings, and so on.

It’s too bad that more physicians don’t routinely follow up with their patients, particularly when it really counts. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Mind The Gap*

Hospitals: Check Doctor’s Communication Skills Before Buying The Practice

April 19th, 2010 by StevenWilkinsMPH in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Research
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Hospitals today are aggressively buying physician practices in their local markets. Why? Hospitals want to solidify their referral base for inpatient and outpatient referrals as well as increase their negotiating power with insurance companies.

Over 50% of physician practices are now owned by hospitals according to the Medical Group Management Association. As such, many one-time private practitioners are now hospital employees.

Having done physician recruitment in a prior life, I know that before buying a practice that hospitals look at a variety of things including the practice’s patient volume, number of hospital referrals, estimates of patient turnover, and so on. One of the things we did not consider years ago in evaluating and buying a physician practice was the quality of the physician’s patient communication skills and supporting practices. I doubt that things have changed much since. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Mind The Gap*