Solving the primary care crisis

We do have a primary care crisis.  We believe that primary care delivers better care for less money.   But primary care is under siege. Why The Government Tried To Fix Primary Care And Failed Many physicians do not believe in government solutions.  As I understand the government solutions, they have great complexity. One cannot “fix” primary care unless one really understands those features that make primary care advantageous.  The key is time.  Our current payment system discourages spending adequate time with patients. While we cannot prove it, many believe that primary care physicians order tests and order consults to save time. I would happily argue that until we pay primary care physicians for spending appropriate time with patients, we will not decrease health care costs.  We need to encourage physicians to spend time with patients.  Complex systems are unlikely to work.
Source: DB's Medical Rants - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Medical Rants Source Type: blogs