Discussion » Questions » Politics » When you visit a doctor, should he be concerned with how much money he can make off you, or how to best treat you?

When you visit a doctor, should he be concerned with how much money he can make off you, or how to best treat you?

Posted - March 2, 2020

Responses


  • 13277
    Isn't the answer obvious?
      March 2, 2020 10:00 AM MST
    1

  • 44620
    With my insurance, I don't care how much he makes. A good question to ask the doctor.
      March 2, 2020 10:56 AM MST
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  • 34296
    I think most want treat you the best way and avoid being sued.  The malpractice concerns can cause "over treatment".

    A girl I know is deathly afraid of needles. She had a sore throat.  They started talking about a possible antibiotic shot.  This made she blood pressure shoot up.  The Dr then worried about a more serious infection sent her to the ER to get a CAT scan.  She had strep throat.   I do not know how/if the insurance protested the treatment. 
      March 2, 2020 2:11 PM MST
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  • 19937
    The ER doctors should have first tested her for strep by doing a throat culture.  There should have been no reason for a CT scan.  Those scans do not detect bacterial or viral infections.
      March 2, 2020 3:00 PM MST
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  • 34296
    I agree. She was not even at the ER. She was at an Urgent Care. 
      March 2, 2020 3:15 PM MST
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  • 5391

    I conferred with my golf buddy, Dr Epps (not his real name), who is a retired surgeon, on this. Physicians generally leave billing, collections and cost management to staff, but it is usually expected that patients have the resources to pay SOMETHING. 

    Elective procedures, like cosmetic surgery, are a different matter, usually involving a negotiation (and often a prepayment) with the patient. Doc Epps will not presume to say that all doctors conduct their business the same way

      March 2, 2020 4:29 PM MST
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  • 4624
    That's why I think fully-free to all medicine is better than any private system.

    When the user pays, the doctor makes far more money the sicker you are.
    Private systems have far more adverse incidents and higher insurance costs.

    In public systems, governments fund far more preventative education and services.
    They also fund free testing to encourage early interventions,
    leading to greater likelihood of cancers and diseases cured, lives saved, and disabilities averted.
    And the economics of buying equipment and materials in bulk keeps costs down.


      March 3, 2020 12:49 AM MST
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  • 1893
    In Austria how best to treat you within State Guidelines, with insurance Privat how best to treat you. We have E-card and insurance Privat

    Stateside - some case how best to treat you, generally to avoid lawsuits.  It bothered the Doc (my partner) that there were a whole series of formulary Screens (computer) to go through as well as timers on how long one could spend with a patient.  It bothered the H__L out of her that Nurse Practitioners generally did the screening

    Note in the States if one does not have insurance you are generally screwed on getting medical help unless it is catastrophic.  Then the impetus is to get the patient out of the facility with the least amount of treatment possible while legally covering your ass
      March 3, 2020 9:37 AM MST
    1