Jump to content


Lincoln doctor transitioning to concierge model


Recommended Posts

Longtime physician Anthony Ross admits to some anxiety as he transitions to concierge medicine, a care model radically different from anything in Lincoln, and one that will send hundreds of his patients elsewhere.

 

continue reading

 

I'm torn on this. If people are willing to pay $1,500 per year just to keep their doctor then so be it. It's not unethical, per se, but the way he spins the issue rubs me the wrong way.

 

Dr. Ross states that this will be "revenue neutral" for him but he doesn't mention that his workload/patients/paperwork will be less than 1/4 what it was previously. The supposed benefits are largely BS.

 

There aren't enough family practice doctors as it is . . . and this certainly increases the problem.

 

I guess if there's a market someone will jump on it. That person appears to be Dr. Ross.

Link to comment

Is the $1,500 per individual or family? I can't imagine spending $7,500 up front for a family of 5.

 

Regardless, I see this becoming more prevalent. We go to the most popular clinic in our area and it is rare that we ever get our primary physician. He is either busy with something else or not there at all. I'm not complaining, it is our choice to go to him. It would be nice to know that you will have the same person spending time with you/child and learning and knowing your history better. At our clinic, many of the physicians only work part time.....it is even harder to get in with them.

 

It is up to the Doc to run his business how he sees fit.

 

I would probably consider this if the price was a little bit more reasonable for us. With the exception of my daughter (who is always sick), none of us really go to the doctor that much. I have to beg my wife not to take the kids to the doctor every time they have fever. After 9 years, she is starting to realize that they can't do much for that.

Link to comment

Longtime physician Anthony Ross admits to some anxiety as he transitions to concierge medicine, a care model radically different from anything in Lincoln, and one that will send hundreds of his patients elsewhere.

 

continue reading

 

I'm torn on this. If people are willing to pay $1,500 per year just to keep their doctor then so be it. It's not unethical, per se, but the way he spins the issue rubs me the wrong way.

 

Dr. Ross states that this will be "revenue neutral" for him but he doesn't mention that his workload/patients/paperwork will be less than 1/4 what it was previously. The supposed benefits are largely BS.

 

There aren't enough family practice doctors as it is . . . and this certainly increases the problem.

 

I guess if there's a market someone will jump on it. That person appears to be Dr. Ross.

 

Its like anything else, you pay for access. Write a big enough check to UNL, and Tom will have you to the house for a BBQ. If this system truly helps you lead a longer helather life, with less sickness, and problems caught early, or avoided all together then great, if you can afford it. Although with anything like this, it is almost impossible to verify that it has worked, I have no idea when or if I will get sick....

Link to comment

I think some of the uneasiness is the inherent tension between modern medicine as a business and modern medicine as something more noble. (Noble doesn't feel like the right word . . . but I don't know what word I'm looking for.)

 

I think it can be summed up as people as patients versus people as customers . . . when in reality they are both. Good luck finding a doctor who will tell his patients that they are customers.

Link to comment

I think some of the uneasiness is the inherent tension between modern medicine as a business and modern medicine as something more noble. (Noble doesn't feel like the right word . . . but I don't know what word I'm looking for.)

 

I think it can be summed up as people as patients versus people as customers . . . when in reality they are both. Good luck finding a doctor who will tell his patients that they are customers.

 

I think we still put Doctors on a pedestal, like Firefighters, or Clergy... We see them as people who give of themselves, and ask little in return. They make us feel better when we are sick and comfort us when we are dying... Anyway, to have that shattered, as you said, makes us feel betrayed, like they are in it for the money, and not for some intangible, ill-defined noble reason....

 

In the end, he may provide better service, I assume he will make more money, or at least have more free time, and this might be a way for him to transition into retirement. I guess I really dont care, I get to use express lanes at large airports due to my elite status on Delta, why should medicine be any different.

  • Fire 1
Link to comment

My mom actually works for Dr. Ross. Sorta. She works for Nebraska Lab Linc and she is his lab specialist. So, I have a good inside track on all of this. I can tell you that Dr. Ross is doing it just for the money. He isn't concerned at all about his patients. This program charges $1500 per person and the fees are not covered by Medicare/Medicaid or health insurance. It's totally unethical. His plan is to do this program for three years, make $1 million, and retire. Just awful.

Link to comment

Also, most of the benefits provided by this program are total BS. The biggest selling point they give people is that they have 24/7 access to their doctor. Not true. Yes, they can see Dr. Ross whenever he is at his office, but if he isn't there, they are made to call a help line provided by the service. Basically, it's WebMD over the phone.

Link to comment

uneasy as it may be, this is nothing new. in fact, the only thing relatively groundbreaking or whatnot around it is

 

1: The relatively low 'fee' he charging for this 'service' compared to other parts of the country.

 

2: that this service has finally hit podunk lincoln

 

and, maybe...

 

3: that people are surprised that others will pay for it in 'podunk' lincoln (kind of like people that make 'a lot' of money and would spring for this sort of thing are surprised that others wouldnt jump on this, if youre picking up what im throwing down.)

 

and drumline...youre ethical argument is, while noble, i dunno...odd. if you could make enough money to retire playing drums for people at what you or I may consider exorbitant rates (that you were not holding a gun to their head to pay) you wouldnt do it? and on the flip side, if you knew and liked someone's services enough, and could afford them exclusively, that you wouldnt pay it especially in regards to something as important as healthcare?

 

and i find the article stating that concierge medicine being around for 'at least a decade' quite humorous.

Link to comment

uneasy as it may be, this is nothing new. in fact, the only thing relatively groundbreaking or whatnot around it is

 

1: The relatively low 'fee' he charging for this 'service' compared to other parts of the country.

 

2: that this service has finally hit podunk lincoln

 

and, maybe...

 

3: that people are surprised that others will pay for it in 'podunk' lincoln (kind of like people that make 'a lot' of money and would spring for this sort of thing are surprised that others wouldnt jump on this, if youre picking up what im throwing down.)

 

and drumline...youre ethical argument is, while noble, i dunno...odd. if you could make enough money to retire playing drums for people at what you or I may consider exorbitant rates (that you were not holding a gun to their head to pay) you wouldnt do it? and on the flip side, if you knew and liked someone's services enough, and could afford them exclusively, that you wouldnt pay it especially in regards to something as important as healthcare?

 

and i find the article stating that concierge medicine being around for 'at least a decade' quite humorous.

I don't think anyone here said that it was "new" . . . it's just relatively new to the area.

 

I'm friends with about a dozen docs and I'm marrying one of them. None of them will admit that they are interested in the concierge model. So I guess there are some who could charge these fees and will not do so.

 

Personally, I wouldn't pay the fee unless I had to do so . . . i.e. all the doctors in my area operated on a concierge basis.

 

That said, I would say that it isn't unethical, per se, but rather just blatant greed. (Keep in mind that it could be unethical in certain circumstances . . . such as a critical access doctor in a rural area with no other providers.)

Link to comment

uneasy as it may be, this is nothing new. in fact, the only thing relatively groundbreaking or whatnot around it is

 

1: The relatively low 'fee' he charging for this 'service' compared to other parts of the country.

 

2: that this service has finally hit podunk lincoln

 

and, maybe...

 

3: that people are surprised that others will pay for it in 'podunk' lincoln (kind of like people that make 'a lot' of money and would spring for this sort of thing are surprised that others wouldnt jump on this, if youre picking up what im throwing down.)

 

and drumline...youre ethical argument is, while noble, i dunno...odd. if you could make enough money to retire playing drums for people at what you or I may consider exorbitant rates (that you were not holding a gun to their head to pay) you wouldnt do it? and on the flip side, if you knew and liked someone's services enough, and could afford them exclusively, that you wouldnt pay it especially in regards to something as important as healthcare?

 

and i find the article stating that concierge medicine being around for 'at least a decade' quite humorous.

I don't think anyone here said that it was "new" . . . it's just relatively new to the area.

 

I'm friends with about a dozen docs and I'm marrying one of them. None of them will admit that they are interested in the concierge model. So I guess there are some who could charge these fees and will not do so.

 

Personally, I wouldn't pay the fee unless I had to do so . . . i.e. all the doctors in my area operated on a concierge basis.

 

That said, I would say that it isn't unethical, per se, but that rather just blatant greed. (Keep in mind that it could be unethical in certain circumstances . . . such as a critical access doctor in a rural area with no other providers.)

 

 

Totally off subject, are these Doctors given a state stipend to practice in under served areas, so would by virtue of that be blocked from joining this kind of program?

Link to comment

uneasy as it may be, this is nothing new. in fact, the only thing relatively groundbreaking or whatnot around it is

 

1: The relatively low 'fee' he charging for this 'service' compared to other parts of the country.

 

2: that this service has finally hit podunk lincoln

 

and, maybe...

 

3: that people are surprised that others will pay for it in 'podunk' lincoln (kind of like people that make 'a lot' of money and would spring for this sort of thing are surprised that others wouldnt jump on this, if youre picking up what im throwing down.)

 

and drumline...youre ethical argument is, while noble, i dunno...odd. if you could make enough money to retire playing drums for people at what you or I may consider exorbitant rates (that you were not holding a gun to their head to pay) you wouldnt do it? and on the flip side, if you knew and liked someone's services enough, and could afford them exclusively, that you wouldnt pay it especially in regards to something as important as healthcare?

 

and i find the article stating that concierge medicine being around for 'at least a decade' quite humorous.

I don't think anyone here said that it was "new" . . . it's just relatively new to the area.

 

I'm friends with about a dozen docs and I'm marrying one of them. None of them will admit that they are interested in the concierge model. So I guess there are some who could charge these fees and will not do so.

 

Personally, I wouldn't pay the fee unless I had to do so . . . i.e. all the doctors in my area operated on a concierge basis.

 

That said, I would say that it isn't unethical, per se, but that rather just blatant greed. (Keep in mind that it could be unethical in certain circumstances . . . such as a critical access doctor in a rural area with no other providers.)

 

 

Totally off subject, are these Doctors given a state stipend to practice in under served areas, so would by virtue of that be blocked from joining this kind of program?

It's not usually a state stipend. Often their student loans (which run up to about $250,000) are repaid if they practice in a critical access rural area. It's a pretty good deal for all concerned. The doc gets his education paid off and the town gets a new young doctor.

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Visit the Sports Illustrated Husker site



×
×
  • Create New...