Posted on 09/26/2011 8:39:55 PM PDT by Clairity
Forty-two percent of US doctors believe that their patients are getting too much medical care, according to a survey published Monday which suggests fears of malpractice suits may be to blame.
A total of 28 percent said they felt they were treating their patients too aggressively, while 45 percent said one of every 10 patients they saw daily had issues that could have been dealt with by phone, by email or by a nurse.
Forty percent said they did not have enough time to spend with patients.
The results are based on a mail survey that was filled out by 627 doctors in the United States.
Fifty-two percent said they felt their patients were receiving just the right amount of care and six percent said their patients were receiving too little, said the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
As I recall most doctors don't belong to AMA anymore and AMA pushed and endorsed Obamacare.
he is right lets stop treating all illegal aliens now.
I do think the point is that we are a nation of hypochondriacs and that when health care is "free" some folks just go to the doctor at the drop of a hat. Hey, it only costs $20 for a copay -- maybe the doctor will pay attention to you and treat you like you matter (there are a lot of lonely people in society).
When people really pay for their own care, then they will get just the right amount of care.
I get damn little medical care (knock on wood)for a 60 y/o, rarely use it, but it probably won’t be there for me when I need it if Obamacare goes into effect.
I believe it. People go to the doctor because they have a runny nose. “Insurance pays for it”, so sound economic decisions go out the window. If we had to pay for own medical care (with insurance limited to catastrophic incidents), people would make better decisions.
Ever tried to phone your doctor to ask him a question? They refuse to talk to you without an appointment!
The answer is simple, though it may never be implememnted. Require full payment for the office visit up front, to be reimbursed only is there is a bona fide treatable disease process diagnosed and identified.
For me, the problem is the lawyers always suing doctors over every little thing real or imagined. Now of course there has to be redress for misconduct or incompetence but there are too many John Edwards type lawsuits that make doctors practice defensive medicine and over prescribe tests that drive up medical costs. Follow the money trail!
The proper term is “over-utilization” one of the major cost drivers of medical inflation.
I knew of a “gimmee girl” who would take herself or her kids to the emergency room for the sniffles.
In this respect, the title is correct.
antibiotic overuse is sparking the rise of more resistant infections....
and viruses....people don't feel well and if the dr tells them to go home and take plenty of fluids, and rest and maybe some aspirin, I can tell you many people would feel put out NOT to have some antibiotic ordered...and antibiotics do nothing for viruses...
“...issues that could have been dealt with by phone, by email or by a nurse.”
Not if it’s an ED issue. Well, maybe the nurse part.
Sorry.
My granddaughter went to the doctor for a regular physical for sports. They decide that she has some heart problem, 6 visits and 5 doctors later, one a heart specialist declare her fit and healthy...it is a racket.
Isn't that the truth. I work with a widow. You can tell when she's feeling a little ignored or when one of her kids has something big going on. She doesn't go to the doctor, though, she goes to the ER. She is constantly on some antibiotic or another, sometimes on more than one at once. Always claiming pneumonia, bleeding ulcers, kidney stones, intestinal disorders, her appendix is enlarged and inflamed (they haven't taken it out, yet, though). Always has headaches. Of course, if I sucked down as much coca cola as she does (4-5 64 oz. per day and that's just at work), I'd have rebound headaches from all the caffeine, plus she takes Excedrin. Then, she complains she can't sleep at night (gee, wonder why), so she self-medicates with Benedryl. Then, in the morning, she's groggy and her head hurts, so she sucks down more coke and Excedrin, and the whole cycle starts all over again. I've tried to tell her, but she won't listen. I have been out to lunch with her where she's downed three glasses of coke before our food arrived. It's impressive. And she doesn't drink diet coke, either, so you can imagine the calories.
True. Let’s see a competent polling firm like Gallup do the survey to the most painstaking, scientific standards they can, and even yet we cannot treat the result as anything more than a picture of the average doctor’s view — it would have no moral force.
And that would be a stupid approach too, because that heartburn might or might not have been a heart attack.
A competent doctor’s office will have a triage nurse that you can leave a message with if you’re unsure if you should see the doctor. Sometimes I’ve been advised to try OTC medication to see if it helps, and if it doesn’t then call back for an appointment. Occasionally the doctor, if familiar with your conditions, will call in a prescription.
People get too much health care, because they don’t pay for it, and because often they don’t even pay for their insurance. So they lobby their employer for gold-plated insurance, and then use the insurance to go to the doctor for every minor issue.
If people had to pay real money to see a doctor, they wouldn’t abuse the system. Money is a great way to “ration” care by making people understand there is a COST. If they have to pay the real cost of the care, they will look for lower-cost options first, like maybe a phone-in discussion with a nurse, or using online tools that many insurance companies are now setting up to help people do their own triage.
I’ve had a nurse tell me over the phone to take something, and I thought it might not be a good idea and turned out that had I done it, it may have killed me. Nurses are not doctors and to have them telling patients what to do or take with having seen a doctor is a risky business.
That should be ‘without’ having been seen my a doctor.
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