Comments on: Medicare rules improve some pay, decrease others http://www.medrants.com/archives/4994 Internal medicine, American health care, and especially medical education Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:15:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: solo dr http://www.medrants.com/archives/4994/comment-page-1#comment-529603 solo dr Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:18:42 +0000 http://www.medrants.com/?p=4994#comment-529603 I am a primary care physician. I work at least 70 hours a week in the office and hospital setting. It is frustrating that my time is not valued as much as a specialist, who works the same or less. Routinely I am at the hospital at 6 AM and end my office time at 6 PM. Radiologists rarely are at either hospital prior to 7 AM, and computer images can take 2-4 days to get read.   Radiologists and other specialists already are complaining about the 5% cut, yet they currently are paid two to three times what the average primary care physician gets. Under the current system the specialists are more valuable and have learned to work faster, as the payments have been cut. MRI and CT scanners have gotten faster, and electronic teleradiology systems with faster computers and electronic templates allow radiologists to read images faster. Primary care can only see so many patients per day with minimal to no way to increase revenue while maintaining the care of the patient.   Currently Medicare makes up around 40-50% of the inaptietn and outpatient visits, procedures, and studies. Most doctors in my area cannot afford to opt out of Medicare and will simply absorb the lowered fee schedule. Until specialists have salaries that are about 50% less than current rates, I will not feel sorry for them.     I am a primary care physician. I work at least 70 hours a week in the office and hospital setting. It is frustrating that my time is not valued as much as a specialist, who works the same or less. Routinely I am at the hospital at 6 AM and end my office time at 6 PM. Radiologists rarely are at either hospital prior to 7 AM, and computer images can take 2-4 days to get read.  

Radiologists and other specialists already are complaining about the 5% cut, yet they currently are paid two to three times what the average primary care physician gets. Under the current system the specialists are more valuable and have learned to work faster, as the payments have been cut. MRI and CT scanners have gotten faster, and electronic teleradiology systems with faster computers and electronic templates allow radiologists to read images faster. Primary care can only see so many patients per day with minimal to no way to increase revenue while maintaining the care of the patient.  

Currently Medicare makes up around 40-50% of the inaptietn and outpatient visits, procedures, and studies. Most doctors in my area cannot afford to opt out of Medicare and will simply absorb the lowered fee schedule. Until specialists have salaries that are about 50% less than current rates, I will not feel sorry for them.  

 

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