Of course it’s great news that so many Americans who previously could not afford health care will be able to receive medical assistance, but PPACA kicking in also means that an estimated 30 million new patients will be entering the health care system in the next year, and everyone is wondering what adjustments will need to be made by health care providers and administrators to accommodate such a staggering influx of people and logistical changes. In the realm of private practice specifically, interference in physician autonomy, lack of doctors on hand, and the potential monopolization of private practices are some of the factors that hinder attempts to care for so many new people.
Private physicians have struggled to resolve providing the best care for their patients with interference from non-clinical sources that reduce that autonomy. These interferences often concern billing and defensive medicine pressures, and can often unnerve private doctors to the point that they feel restricted in the decisions they can make to help their patients. Can this process continue uninterrupted without consequence with so many new people in need of care on the horizon?
The trend of individual practitioners working fewer hours is also creating doubt that new patients will receive proper and complete care. After all, a high volume of new people seeking medical attention will generate a demand for more physicians; one has to wonder if private practices will be short-handed.
However, the greatest fear of all has to be the monopolization of private practices, and the financial security of doctors taking precedence over the quality of patient care. More and more hospital systems and medical groups are forming large numbers of private practices, which many physicians are seeking to be a part of so that they will be set financially. The monetary incentive that makes private practice so alluring, combined with the fact that 52% of private physicians limit or are planning to limit care to Medicare patients has many people questioning if a physician’s personal interests and the interests of his or her patients are mutually exclusive. If this is the case, are an increasing number of doctors’ concerns leaning towards the former?
It’s not that medical professionals are expected to be completely selfless all the time, it’s just that, when something as intimate as a person’s body is at risk, that person is entitled to their doctor making decisions based entirely on what is best for them medically. With 30 million more people about to enter the healthcare system, patients hope that ulterior motives or personal concerns won’t influence the care they receive from physicians.
2013 and the coming years are going to bring monumental changes to American healthcare. Private physicians and their patients alike are worried about solo practices being prepared to assist millions of new patients. If private doctors need practice management consulting, they should contact Clinic Service to gain a better understanding of what will be required of them and their colleagues to ensure PPACA is the smashing success everyone hopes it will be.
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