Jul

30

CMW News: Physicians use creative scheduling to cope with outdated system

By Case Management Weekly

If you’re a Medicare patient, your doctor may not be willing to take a quick look at your sore throat when you go in for an appointment about your blood pressure. Some physicians are making patients book separate appointments for each of their ailments.  

Medicare reimburses according to the number of appointments and physicians are being forced into creative scheduling in order to treat their Medicare patients, according to The Tennessean. Medicare does not factor in the amount of time the physician spends with the patient during each appointment. The increased number of appointments for each patient often translates into months of waiting to be seen and less effective primary care, which can mean more visits to the hospital.

Other money-saving tactics physicians are using include not accepting new Medicare patients and cutting current Medicare patients. Patients with chronic conditions who are on Medicare and can’t find a primary care physician will be forced to visit already over-crowded emergency departments.

Still, not much is being done to remedy the problem. The Medicare reimbursement schedule is determined by a formula created in 1997 and only Congress can override it.

Source: The Tennessean