As we've long documented, increasing the demand for care (more folks with insurance) will of necessity run into the brick wall of supply of said care. That is, when everyone has access to "free" healthcare, who's going to provide it, especially with narrow networks reimbursing providers less and less?
Well, some enterprising Golden State folks have come up with an intriguing (if ill-fated) idea:
"Physician Retraining and Reentry (PRR) an online program designed to give experienced, medically licensed physicians and specialists, retired or otherwise, the opportunity to practice adult outpatient primary care in understaffed clinics across the country."
So the first question would be: um, why now, when reimbursements are at an all-time low and headed south? Follow-up: why do you suppose all these folks retired in the first place? (Hint: see Question #1)
But all is not lost, dear readers, because they've come up with a fool-proof way to fill in the gaps:
"The program has also given new hope to disabled surgeons who are no longer able to practice surgery"
To be fair, the folks at PRR aren't (necessarily) advocating that disabled surgeons start operating again, merely "treat patients in a primary care setting." What, exactly, that would entail is left to the imagination of the reader.
(Sorry 'bout that)
While I certainly applaud the group's willingness to think outside the box, I'm just not seeing a path to success here.
[Hat Tip: Gabriela Torres-Soler]
Well, some enterprising Golden State folks have come up with an intriguing (if ill-fated) idea:
"Physician Retraining and Reentry (PRR) an online program designed to give experienced, medically licensed physicians and specialists, retired or otherwise, the opportunity to practice adult outpatient primary care in understaffed clinics across the country."
So the first question would be: um, why now, when reimbursements are at an all-time low and headed south? Follow-up: why do you suppose all these folks retired in the first place? (Hint: see Question #1)
But all is not lost, dear readers, because they've come up with a fool-proof way to fill in the gaps:
"The program has also given new hope to disabled surgeons who are no longer able to practice surgery"
To be fair, the folks at PRR aren't (necessarily) advocating that disabled surgeons start operating again, merely "treat patients in a primary care setting." What, exactly, that would entail is left to the imagination of the reader.
(Sorry 'bout that)
While I certainly applaud the group's willingness to think outside the box, I'm just not seeing a path to success here.
[Hat Tip: Gabriela Torres-Soler]
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