DB talks about the lack of outpatient internists. “The concept of our reimbursement system is bankrupt. If you pay me for a unit of care, regardless of how much time I spend, I will look for ways to decrease the time of that unit of care. If I can see 7 patients in 2 hours rather than 6, I have increased my gross income by 17%, without significantly changing my overhead! But I also had to decrease each patient visit by approximately 3 minutes.”
I’m an outpatient internist. These words ring true.
