After you leave the physician’s office, the real work of practicing medicine begins. Unlike the past, when physicians spent most of their energy actually caring for the patient, they now must spend an equal, perhaps even more time justifying their request for payment. And you wouldn’t believe the amount of energy that goes into that. Its detailed description is beyond the scope of this blog.

Long gone are the days when the physician just wrote a quick note to remind himself of what he saw you for and how he treated you in case you didn’t get better. Long gone is the simple, “Mrs. Jones comes in for a physicial today and everything looks just fine.” Now the note must include among many other things, three vital signs –this is why they always want to weigh you even if you don’t want to be reminded how much you enjoyed the holidays.  

Most importantly, the requirements necessary for reimbursement unfortunately take away from the time that you could be spending with the physician. One doctor informed me that each of his patients is scheduled for a half-an-hour appointment. But by the time the nurse and other personnel are finished gathering what is required for billing, he actually spends only about ten minutes in actual patient care. How sad.