Q: "But what about people who still can't afford healthcare?"
This question has been posted time and again by different people; they all seem worried about people who can't afford healthcare in our present system somehow not being able to afford care in the PSYCH system. First thing, more people will be able to afford healthcare because the cost of healthcare will be lower. Period. (Read previous posts to see how.) And since everyone gets their one yearly comprehensive visit (via their General Health Fee) if they don't get sick for t
Q: If you cause the cost of drugs to plummet, pharma won't spend money on R&D, right?
"If you cause the cost of drugs to plummet, pharma won't spend money on R&D, right?" This was a question from another anonymous post, but at least they were friendly this time. Before I answer this question fully (since I think I've alluded to it in other blog posts), I want you to take a step back and ask yourself a question: Why do drug companies make drugs? The first and feel-good answer is because they want to help people. I think this is the case for bench research. Havi
Q: I'm not going to learn how to use another EHR. I'm almost retired.
This was a response, not so much a question, from an older physician I communicated with on a forum. Here's my response: hire a scribe. There's this interesting phenomenon occurring in medicine currently that I think is absolutely f*cking brilliant. Have students in higher medical education (medical/PA/NP students) sitting in the room with the doctor transcribing what the doctor does and says. Afterward, the doctor signs off on the note, and they move on to the next patient.
Q: So I looked at your plan; why should providers be on salary?
"So I looked at your plan; why should providers be on salary?" This was a question posed by an anonymous person in a forum I chat on. They had really great manners (which seems more and more rare these days). When I thought about how to support and incentivize a provider to go into the field of medicine, I looked at my own behaviors. When I was fully salaried and making above 200K, I was perfectly fine with waste. Even though I was the most productive physician in my group, I
Q: What if people move out of state?
"What if people move out of state?" Knowing that Americans are more mobile than ever, this question arose from a friend who wonders how health care would function if you left one state for another. First off, in the P.S.Y.C.H. plan, each state will choose its own pricing. If you think about it, this creates market competition between states. After all, you don't want citizens leaving for other states because the cost of health care is cheaper than their own. This will keep pr
Q: How can you create a safe, universal EHR?
"How can you create a safe, universal EHR?" This question was posted on a doctor's blog who insisted that not only should we stay on paper but that they themselves would never use a universal EHR because of privacy. That is one approach, and there are times when paper items are still very applicable (e.g. psychotherapy processing notes). But given that your very identity is held in massive server files protected by the government and other commercial interests, including heal
Q: Um, why not just have health savings accounts?
"If I think everything should be fair and that I should be able to access care with the money I've already put into taxes, why can't we just convert everyone to health savings accounts?" This common-sense question was asked by a close friend (and conservative). Firstly, compassion. Humans, especially Americans, recognize that there are times when you're not feeling well or not doing well that allow you to be excused from normal expectations. For instance, the idea of a "sick