The Healthcare Entrepreneur Blog » Economics

Is traditional internal medicine dead? – A guest post by Dr. Steven Knope

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:48:04 +0000

Introduction by Tannus Quatre PT, MBA

I am pleased to post the following commentary from Dr. Steven Knope, an internal medicine specialist and concierge physician located in Tucson, AZ. I had the pleasure of befriending Dr. Knope a few years ago, and since that time have enjoyed thoroughly Dr. Knope’s perspective on medicine, and vision for the future of healthcare. Dr. Knope’s book, Concierge Medicine: A New System To Get The Best Healthcare,…

More physicians leave private practice

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:10:44 +0000

I was recently interviewed for an article which was published in the Carolina Journalism Network, titled “Physicians move out of private practice,” a story by Laura Montini. The interview was prompted by an article I wrote for The Healthcare Entrepreneur Blog titled, “Time to throw in the towel on private practice…or is it?”

Click here to visit the article (excerpt below).

As an advocate of entrepreneurship, Quatre

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Time to throw in the towel on private practice…or is it?

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:07:45 +0000

I don’t buy it.

An article in the New York Times today titled, “More Doctors Giving Up Private Practices,” told the story of an increasing number of physicians who are finding their “bliss” through employed, salaried positions, rather than at the helm of their own private practice. The reason – increased costs, decreased pay, and ultimately unhappier doctors in the private practice environment. Again, I don’t buy it.

The article spoke of the…

Vantage Forums: Health Insurance Coverage by State

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:52:22 +0000

The US Census Bureau has tons of great information that can be used to perform effective market analysis. One area that we didn’t cover in detail during the Market Analysis 101 presentation was the ability to obtain information on the health insured in the US.

This page (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/ … index.html) of the US Census website provides links to historical health insurance tables which break down the insured and uninsured by state, age, historical…

Vantage Forums: County Health Rankings Website

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:46:34 +0000

During a recent Market Analysis presentation at CSM 2010, I mentioned a website link that was referenced in a recent email by the APTA. The website is called “County Health Rankings” and the url is www.countyhealthrankings.org. This is an excellent resource for market health data at the county level and provides a number of data categories as well as an explanation of the data collection methodology and relevance for each. Really a great…

$15 million Medicare fraud scheme paid kickbacks to fraudulent patients

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:31:23 +0000

Two Miami residents have plead guilty to submitting over $15 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for heathcare services that were either not necessary or not provided from March 2006 through March 2007. By itself this is a tragic tale, but the fact that the criminals paid cash and narcotic kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries in return for their co-conspiracy in the fraud scheme is disgusting.

In his plea, Jose Rosario also admitted that

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Loss of obstetric services forces NY patients elsewhere

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:45:25 +0000

For those that think the growing physician shortage is strictly a Medicare issue, think again.

What happens when a young, middle-class mother wants to deliver a baby in Hamilton, NY? After August 31st, it’ll mean a drive out of the area due to a closure of the OB department at Community Memorial Hospital.

The reason – not enough qualified providers to provide the service.

“It’s certainly a significant loss for the community,” said David Felton,

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Nurse Practitioners As Primary Care Doctors

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:45:58 +0000

Some estimate that as many as 125,000 nurse practitioners throughout the U.S. might have a sizable impact on the primary care shortage. In Boston, wait times are about as bad as they get, providing the impetus for finding a solution quickly.

Trying to get an appointment to see your primary care doctor can be a burden. In Boston, the wait time to see a physician is the worst in the country, with an average of almost

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Interstate competition for primary care doctors

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:23:32 +0000

Competition for a shrinking pool of qualified primary care doctors is hurting states that have a hard time recruiting against higher paying markets. For Vermont, the lure of a high quality of life isn’t quite enough it seems.

The reasons for the doctor shortage, which has been gradually worsening over the years, are well documented. Much of the problem boils down to money. Medical students who opt to specialize rather than enter primary care practices

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Recruiting physicians to rural areas means keeping the family happy

Tannus Quatre PT, MBA — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:37:42 +0000

When hospitals can’t pay physicians enough to practice in rural areas, the focus turns to keeping the spouses and children happy.

“Rural areas and smaller cities—depending on the impact the economy is having on them—they are being extremely creative” in their recruiting, says Kathy Murray, senior director of key accounts at St. Louis-based Cejka Search, adding that this is especially true for specialists such as orthopedic surgeons whose procedures are major cash generators. “They are

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