5 ways assembly line medicine harms patients

When we go to the deli, we expect to take a number and wait in line. Accomplishing any task at the department of motor vehicles can be an ordeal of waiting and then being herded out the door. This is part of life in American society. However, it should not be part of your health care. Patients need personalized attention and they need a health care team that listens to them, no matter who is telling them to step up the pace. Sure, if pushed I can see ten patients an hour. But, I don’t want to and no doctor should be forced to. For one thing, patients are living longer with more chronic diseases than ever before. And when we rush, that is when mistakes happen and when things get overlooked. It is OK if you forgot to get your cheese to take home from the deli. It is not OK if you had an abnormal mammogram that needs a biopsy but no one had time to read the actual report and it got missed. As the health care system shifts to larger health care systems and hospitals owning medical practices, it shifts from being patient-focused to be a corporation run for profits. We can never get away from the fact that people need to earn money from treating patients. However, that should not be the only focus. The main aim should always be patient care and ensuring optimal patient outcomes. Most companies make more profits based on volume and the same is true in medicine. But, it should never be done at the sacrifice of patient care. Cutting nursing staff to dangerously low levels to increas...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Practice Management Primary Care Source Type: blogs