I haven’t been to the doctor in several years because it’s such a hassle. All that time I’ve had health insurance that I have not used. The reason is because my old doctor retired (as did the previous one) and it’s too big a hassle to find a new one. The Wall Street Journal wrote about what a pain seeing a doctor has become.
Category: Doctors & Hospitals
The Good (and Bad) of Remote Patient Monitoring
When telephones began to appear in American homes and businesses physicians were one of the early adopters. As health insurance began to spread patients became more reluctant to pay out of pocket for services not covered by their health plans. For their part, health insurers were reluctant to reimburse for services outside the usual and customary practices. At some point midcentury doctors stopped routinely talking to their patients on the phone because nobody wanted to pay them for the service. If you stop and think about it nothing could be more inconvenient – and antiquated – than having to make a doctor’s appointment to record routine health information. What if your car speedometer could only reveal your speed once you pulled back into your driveway, and then only one snapshot in time during your most recent trip. Over time payer reluctance to reimburse for telemedicine began to slowly change and covid accelerated the transition.
Medical School Graduates Spurned by a Residency: Not a Match Made in Heaven
Today is Match Day 2024 for recent medical school graduates hoping to snag the residency program of their choice. This week the National Resident Matching Program (Match) informed 50,413 medical school graduates whether they matched to their preferred program or have to wait another year (or give up).