Monday, April 25, 2011

Medical Factoids (But You Knew)



The share of solo practices among members of the American Academy of Family Physicians fell to 18 percent by 2008 from 44 percent in 1986. And census figures show that in 2007, just 28 percent of doctors described themselves as self-employed, compared with 58 percent in 1970. Many of the provisions of the new health care law are likely to accelerate these trends.
From Gardiner Harris' gripping New York Times account of life on the front lines of medicine, paywalled  but reprinted in full here.  

2 comments:

Ken Houghton said...

Of course we did. But the people who oppose PPACA want to keep pretending that the "independent doctor" is the rule, not the exception.

Do those people never visit a doctor's office?

The New York Crank said...

When you think of doctors leaving individual practices – and in the future, group practices to become drug company flacks – remember lines on your HMO or Medicare monthly statement that say things like this:

For neurosurgery your doctor billed us: $11,800.00
We paid.........................................................$18.07

For presurgical counseling your doctor
billed us..................................................$ $100.00
We paid...................................................$ 00.00
Have a nice day.

Yours crankily,
The New York Crank