Caring for patients all the way (bills included)

Within doctors’ examination rooms, operating rooms and waiting rooms, clinicians and other staff know the importance of empathy. Caring for patients and loved ones extends beyond one’s medical skills. It also requires a good heart. As sign-up time for 2018 medical insurance approaches, patients look for a meaningful differentiator in health care providers when deciding whether to stick with their health plan, their primary care provider, and other doctors. On the medical side of our industry, health care systems line up to talk about how caring their doctors and nurses are – and overall, they’re pretty honest in describing their empathetic care providers. But afterward comes the bill, when too often empathy vanishes — and therein lies a huge potential differentiator. Just like every provider around the country, Austin Regional Clinic’s well-meaning staff have a hard enough time dealing with insurers and the mysterious language of codes, acronyms, and lingo that relate to our services and billing. It’s a burden that we insiders shoulder on a daily basis. Imagine our patients’ experience. They deal with complicated, costly financial matters related to complex medical treatment maybe once every few years – or maybe just once ever and, thus, for the first time with us. One can (too) easily pin blame on the patients. They needed costly treatment due to their own actions or inactions. They signed up for whatever insurance they possess, coverage shortcomings a...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Practice Management Primary Care Source Type: blogs