Solutions for health care need to consider doctors

By Ira Zunin

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 04, 2012

~~<p>I was recently invited to serve on the panel of a new think-tank about health care comprised of physician leaders from the academic, government, hospital, insurance and private sectors in Hawaii. The 12-member panel bantered about whether the country would be served well by a national system. We also spoke about an evolving model of the patient-centered medical home supported by HMSA in which patients are assigned to facilities that offer a collaborative medical team that looks after not only illness but prevention, lifestyle and psychological health of patients and their families.</p>
<p>One physician who runs an independent private practice launched a lively discussion about the pressures on solo practitioners, particularly, in light of health care reform. Independent physicians have always had to handle the rigors of full-time patient care in addition to practice management including staff recruitment and training; the arduous process of billing multiple payers for services; and compliance with all the laws of the land from OSHA to the IRS.</p>
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I was recently invited to serve on the panel of a new think-tank about health care comprised of physician leaders from the academic, government, hospital, insurance and private sectors in Hawaii. The 12-member panel bantered about whether the country would be served well by a national system. We also spoke about an evolving model of the patient-centered medical home supported by HMSA in which patients are assigned to facilities that offer a collaborative medical team that looks after not only illness but prevention, lifestyle and psychological health of patients and their families.

One physician who runs an independent private practice launched a lively discussion about the pressures on solo practitioners, particularly, in light of health care reform. Independent physicians have always had to handle the rigors of full-time patient care in addition to practice management including staff recruitment and training; the arduous process of billing multiple payers for services; and compliance with all the laws of the land from OSHA to the IRS. Login for more...