Group Appointments With Doctors: When Three Isn't A Crowd (Oh yay!)

Everyday Health ^ | March 19, 2013 | Michelle Andrews

[KansasGirl]

TUESDAY, March 19, 2013 (Kaiser Health News) — When visiting the doctor, there may be strength in numbers.

In recent years, a growing number of doctors have begun holding group appointments — seeing up to a dozen patients with similar medical concerns all at once. Advocates of the approach say such visits allow doctors to treat more patients, spend more time with them (even if not one-on-one), increase appointment availability and improve health outcomes.

Some see group appointments as a way to ease looming physician shortages. According to a study published in December, meeting the country's health-care needs will require nearly 52,000 additional primary-care physicians by 2025. More than 8,000 of that total will be needed for the more than 27 million people newly insured under the Affordable Care Act.

[KansasGirl]

I love the way this "reporter" tries to spin another disastrous result of Obamacare as a positive! Oh yay, no more private physician visits! I get to have group appts! And my co-pay doesn't even go up!

The comments after the article are great.

[BenLurkin]

Unbelievable!

[DLfromthedesert]

How does this comply with HIPPA?

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

How will they know if the Doc changed gloves after each patient during a group rectal exam?

Answer: Mirrors, lots of them.

PS - you're welcome.

[Bryanw92]

This crazy piece of spin won’t survive contact with HIPAA.

[Kozak]

Next up group rectal exams.

[goldi]

Don’t they do this in Massachusetts? They all meet in a group and swear not to divulge information about one another?

[Bryanw92]

>>How will they know if the Doc changed gloves after each patient during a group rectal exam?

In my induction physical for the Navy in 1979, the doctor wore the same gloves for examining 8 scrotums and 8 rectums (but in his defense, he didn’t “break the plane”).

[cripplecreek]

Just like Africa.

[nascarnation]

swear not to divulge information about one another?

Heck that's no fun.

Let's put it on tv in a reality show format.

Somebody get Ryan Seacrest on the line...

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

Next; Group prostate exams.

[PghBaldy]

My question too.

[cripplecreek]

With bets on who will die first and who gets voted off immunization island.

[DLfromthedesert]

Yeah, that was pre-HIV, Hep C, etc.

[Ann Archy]

This is BANANA REPUBLIC CRAP!!! WE ARE AFRICA!!!

[supercat]

Obama said that he believed that reducing doctor’s pay would cause them to be more “productive”. He was speaking the truth (oddly enough); too bad few people realized what doctor “productivity” means for patients.

[PeevedPatriot]

Under Obamacare bureaucrats control the flow of your information.

[Grams A]

How does this comply with HIPPA?”

Some mental health practitioners already do this. It’s called group therapy.

Re HIPAA, IMO this is another ridiculous set of govt regs which should also be abolished and certainly should have been seen as a precursor to Obamacare.

In spite of this, I can envision, for instance, the 2nd Tuesday of every month being mammogram day for those living within a certain ZIP code. All the ladies line up, bare breasted and someone in a TSA uniform at the front of the line yells next, puts each boob in the slammer, hits a button and it’s done. Or air travelers being informed that their full body scan will be sent off to the nearest lab for analysis and determination of any possible medical condition.

[LostInBayport]

For example, in a diabetes group visit, a doctor might ask everyone to remove their shoes so he can examine their feet for sores or signs of infection, among other things. A typical session lasts up to two hours. In addition to answering questions and examining patients, the doctor often leads a discussion, often assisted by a nurse.

This can easily spiral into nightmare territory. Anyone else remember that old television commercial "Sometimes you get an itch so private you can only talk to your doctor about it"?

[KansasGirl]

Of course, the rich will be able to afford the fee for a private appointment! It’ll be everyone else who is herded in and out like cattle!

Obamacare = Disaster for anyone who is not rich.