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Will Insurance Cover A Mole Removal?

In years gone by, I spent far too much time removing small skin bumps in the office. At the time, I was sharing space with another doctor who was profiting by any service I provided. His staff scheduled me with tons of things that simply made me no money. [Meanwhile his stuff diverted some of my better business into his schedule as opposed to mine.]

The facts of life are that medicine is a business and when I am paying a huge chunk of change to overhead, I need to make that back or I operate at a loss.

Patients frequently don’t understand why I cannot remove their moles for what their insurance pays and make a profit. Well, Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Truth in Cosmetic Surgery*

Check-In Kiosks At Your Physician’s Office: It’s All About Efficiency

The airline industry was a lot like physician practices several years ago.  Costs were  rising all around them while stagnant revenue caused declining margins.   Well, this is America, not North Korea.   How did the airline industry survive and thrive (except for American Airlines)?

  1. Efficiency
  2. Add on revenue opportunities

Physician offices are just now catching on.  What can doctors learn from the airline industry?  Here’s picture proof of efficiency in action.

Text from Sister Happy: Here’s how I just checked in at my orthopedists…it’s all by kiosk now.  Have to say…they were faster and nicer than many receptionists.  Only problem is… Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*

Hospitalist Recommends A Way Out Of Medicare And Medicaid

Ask yourself this question:  Would you pay 20-30% less in insurance premiums if it meant you were locked into one hospital system for your health care?  I would.  That’s  what one hospital system in Massachusetts is offering to provide.  It is, essentially, a concierge hospital plan.   You or your employer will pay a set premium, which the hospital is offering at a 20-30% discount, and you get all your health care needs in their system, only going to a competing hospital system if they are unable to provide your necessary services.

What a great idea.  In fact, it’s an idea I have thought about previously for Happy’s hospital.  Why shouldn’t Happy’s hospital offer direct premiums to large and small business employers in our city in exchange for reduced pricing?  I’d sign up.  My health insurance premiums cost over $12,000 a year.  In the eight years of my practice, I’ve probably sent over $100,000 to health insurance companies and realized less than $10,000 in expenses.

It’s a concept who’s time has come.  In fact, direct concierge hospital plans also offer patients and their employers the opportunity for tiered pricing for special amenities  (flat screen television service, pet therapy dog service, dialysis spa, designer ostomy covers, wine vending machines, free soda machines, gourmet cookies, closer parking,  door-to-door service, and 24 hour special access to their physicians and nursing staff).

No more worries about Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*

Managing The Drug Shortage: Many Hospitals Are Buying “Gray Market” Drugs

Severe shortages for life-saving medications have driven a “gray market” in the wholesale drug supply industry, a watchdog group reports.

And the mark-up on gray market drugs is a budget-buster, reports the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization devoted entirely to medication error prevention and safe medication use. Purchasing agents and pharmacists at 549 hospitals responded to a survey on gray market activities associated with drug shortages.

The report includes chilling anecdotes from the respondents about pressure from physicians and administrators to ensure drugs are available, and drastic price gouging from the gray market suppliers. Price mark-ups of 10 times or more than the contract price were reported by about a third of respondents from critical access hospitals and community hospitals, and more than half of university hospitals. Examples include a box of calcium gluconate that cost $750 instead of the contract price of $50 (1,400% mark-up), and a supply of propofol that cost $25,000 instead of $1,500 (1,567% mark-up). Oh, and there’s exorbitant shipping and handling fees, too. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at ACP Hospitalist*

Fifteen Years Ago Vs. Today: How Much Debt Do Med Students Accumulate?

The total debt cost of medical school has become obnoxious.  When I started medical school 15 years ago this month, I took out approximately $2,000 a month in loans.  $1,000 a month for all living expenses, including food, rent, utilities and entertainment and $1,000 a month for tuition and related expenses.  I got out of medical school with just under $110,000 in loans for which I am currently paying back at a rate of $500 month for 30 years.

I learned the other day that a family medicine resident recently completed medical school with almost $250,000 in medical school loans. Family medicine?  $250,000?  Are you crazy?  If that resident can lock in a 30 year loan at 3.5%, they’re looking at monthly payments of $1,200 a month for the rest of their lives.  With current tax rates, this family resident will need to earn at least Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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