Independent Physicians Archives - Marilyn Singleton, MD JD

America Out Loud PULSE: Bells and whistles aside, patients want the human touch in healthcare

From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Dr. Elaina George – https://www.americaoutloud.news/bells-and-whistles-aside-patients-want-the-human-touch-in-healthcare/

With all the technological advances in medicine, AI, and algorithms, it seems some healthcare professionals have forgotten that along with the latest scientific bells and whistles, patients need the human touch.

A large British study of 88,000 patients found the most common complaint was about how they were treated and lack of communication. The researchers found that the complaints reflected individual experiences, mainly anger at the attitudes and skills, and safety and quality of the healthcare professionals. The British have the National Health Service and government financed health care. Clearly this model is not the answer to patient satisfaction.

Surveys in the United States have looked at barriers to access to medical care. High cost affects all consumers of medical care – irrespective of income bracket. Many have skipped an office visit or prescriptions due to cost. Many cite the inconvenience of office hours as a problem. In rural areas, not only are there fewer doctors but they are often long distances away. But what always is on the list of patient concerns is poor communication between the patient and physician. Physicians and patients know that effective communication leads to a better relationship which leads to a better outcome. Another complaint by patients is health care professionals’ lack of empathy and nonchalant treatment. And despite the convenience of telemedicine most patients prefer an in-person visit. What does this say? Take your AI and shove it!

My guest and I will discuss all things medical care and what we can do to improve costs and access to care while maintaining the principles of good medicine.

Dr. George’s website: http://drelainageorge.com

Living in the Solution podcast: http://drelainageorge.com/podcast-2/

Book: Big Medicine: http://drelainageorge.com/product/big-medicine/

To find an independent physician go to the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons website: https://aapsonline.org/direct-payment-cash-friendly-practices/; Join the Wedge (of Freedom) – https://jointhewedge.com

To find Direct Primary Care practices: https://www.dpcfrontier.com

To find an independent physician go to the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons website, https://aapsonline.org/direct-payment-cash-friendly-practices/.

Bio

Dr Elaina George is a Board Certified Otolaryngologist (Ear, Nose, and Throat physician). She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Biology and received her Masters degree in Medical Microbiology from Long Island University. She earned her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Dr George completed her residency at Manhattan, Eye Ear & Throat Hospital. She is the author of Big Medicine: The Cost of Corporate Control and How Doctors and Patients Working Together Can Rebuild a Better System, a book which explores how the U.S. healthcare system has evolved and explains how patients and doctors can create a healthcare system that is based on the principles of price transparency with the power of the doctor patient relationship. She currently also has a radio show, Living in the Solution.

America Out Loud PULSE: Getting Back to the Oath of Hippocrates Is the Way Forward

February 22, 2023 No Comments

From my America Out Loud Pulse podcast with Dr. Elaina George – https://www.americaoutloud.com/getting-back-to-the-oath-of-hippocrates-is-the-way-forward/

Written in about 400 B.C., the Oath of Hippocrates embodies the guiding ethical principles of the practice of medicine. The Oath focuses on individual physicians treating their individual patients. All of our actions must be for the benefit of the patient; we must keep all of their information—“holy secrets” as the Oath states—confidential. Our duties attach whether the patients were “free or slaves.” If we actually paid attention to these principles, we would not need Big Brother’s rules.

The bloated bureaucracy is only getting worse with electronic records, prior authorizations before treatments, and various other payment barriers. There are now 10 administrators to each physician. Physicians and patients alike feel like they are helpless pawns on the corporate chessboard. Perhaps the Affordable Care Act meant well, but in my view, it was another tool to impose more government controls on us. The overall costs are higher and patients find themselves with less choice of physicians.

Is more technology the answer? An unbelievable, but—thanks to cell phone video—verifiably true news report detailed how a robot rolled into a patient’s Intensive Care Unit cubicle and a physician’s talking head appeared on the robot’s “face” and told the patient the sad news that he had a terminal illness. While remote medicine is reasonable in rural areas where access to medical care is limited, telling a patient he is going to die from a TV screen is a crime against all medical ethical principles.

Telemedicine certainly has its place but not only does it decrease the patient-physician face to face contact, but according to a study of 76 million claims, it might not even save money. To be fair, telemedicine is convenient and improve accessibility. However, the convenience could lead to overuse of services.

Is single payer health care the panacea that its proponents claim? According to Sky News, under the National Health Service, there are 7.2 million British citizens awaiting medical care, or almost 11% of the entire British population. It’s estimated that between 300 and 500 people are dying each week because of delays and related problems in the delivery of emergency medical care. More bureaucracy causes delays in care.

So many of us are burned out on politics at this point. We witness so much corruption and two-tiered justice for the “chosen ones”. Nonetheless, we have to work together to change things.

My guest and I will discuss all things medical care and what we can do to improve costs sand access to care while maintaining the principles of good medicine.

To find an independent physician go to the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons website, https://aapsonline.org/direct-payment-cash-friendly-practices/.