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The Medical Nightmare -- How doctors steal from Medicare and how to stop them
Let's take a swing at the solution -- we just might score a home run if we are willing to swing for the outfield wall. Firstly, let's realize what we are seeking; we want to preserve and protect those Medicare and Medicaid funds. Secondly, we want to destroy the stranglehold organized doctors have on those funds. Thirdly, we want to return professionalism to the practice of medicine. And fourthly, we want a 'watchdog' authority that is compelled to do its duty.
As we are pointing out, these 'mini-hospitals' (the expensively-equipped group practice clinics) are simply a double dose of expenditure for Medicare. Any kind of a serious office problem with a patient would require the mini-hospital to rush that patient to a large, elaborately equipped hospital. So what we are looking at now is that mini-hospital with specialists in four or five different fields coming together and rendering a service to patients who will come to their facility by way, in some cases, of 15 to 30 minute appointments. Where has the doctor ever gained the efficiency to receive a patient and to know within 15 minutes or so that the patient had been adequately treated for whatever ailment required the visit in the first place? Well, for one thing, the doctor has at his disposal the assistance of the application of medication. So it is not the question of whether the patient has been adequately treated, but how the patient feels and is responding at this visit. How severe is the ailment at this point? All of this can be answered with the application of medication. Now this is a sad thing for us to have to acknowledge, but we are allowing the facts to represent the truth at this time. And, we are right back to one of our previous conclusions -- the doctor can go right along in making money, the primary concern, as opposed to a practice of making the person well -- it's that simple. Actually, it should be very discouraging to most of us that these mini-hospitals can be so easily set up in our residential areas with the support of the residents of the area. They think they might be gaining something by having a health facility down the street, but they are inviting a high degree of inefficiency as well as a tremendous demand on the general public's need of Medicare.
Perhaps the most efficient way we, the people, can successfully deal with this matter is to consider the group of doctors who organize themselves into a single mini-hospital as human beings, over and above professionals. By doing this we can more justly place greater emphasis on there being a desire to make money, as opposed to providing services as professionals. If we can stay focused on this point, we are in a better position to be more strict with the application of certain rules and regulations that would require those doctors to put into writing the diagnosis of each patient's case, what the doctor has determined the treatment should be, any and all evaluations necessary for reaching that decision, and the period of time required for the patient to be well if at all practical and possible. If the prognosis is that the patient cannot be 'cured,' that decision must be made a part of the report from the physician. If medication is to play any part in this 'get well' proceeding, the doctor must declare what that medication will be, how long it will be used, and when it can be discontinued. Thus, within a reasonable time of accepting the patient, a full report would have been made, a copy given to the patient, one retained by the doctor's office, and a copy sent to the state authority which oversees the licensing of doctors.
More about those miniature hospitals and Medicare It seems that we, the people, may be required to become more actively involved if Medicare is to survive. We have already commented on the organized strength of medical professionals -- how, for instance, they can draw on those Medicare funds with the ease of their own savings accounts. And, what are they being paid for? Consider the case of patient ‘William Doe.’ William was an outpatient at miniature hospital A, and complained to his eye doctor about his dry eyes, dry nose, and dry mouth. His doctor, a surgeon, told William to make an appointment with Dr. X, who is a specialist in eye diseases. “Tell Dr. X you have clogged ducts, he’ll know what to do.” William followed these instructions and a week later found himself in the recovery room after Dr. X had operated on his nose. Dr. X had told William prior to the surgery, “I’m going to unclog your nasal passage by inserting a tube in your nose. Within a few months the tubing will dissolve and disappear. Before then, all of your dryness will be gone.” Months later, William noticed that previously infrequent nosebleeds had become more frequent. He made an appointment to see Dr. Y, an ear, nose, and throat specialist, whom he had previously visited for the same complaint. While examining William, Dr. Y observed a tube hanging inside the left nostril. Upon being given the details of the surgery, Dr. Y picked up the phone and called Dr. X. William heard him say, “I have one of your patients here, William Doe -- he said you did surgery on his nose, and he’s here to see me because of a nosebleed. I see a piece of tubing hanging in his left nostril. Most of the tubing has grown to the flesh. I can cut the piece of tubing that’s hanging. How do you want me to handle this?” On hanging up the phone Dr. Y told William, “He said to cut the hanging tube.” William had noticed something else about his nose problem, but he did not know how to follow up on it. It was his right nostril that had been blocked by something so that he could not get a full breath of air through it. Now hearing Dr. Y speak of that tubing being part of the nose, he felt stupid that he had not told Dr. Y about his breathing problems. A few weeks later, having returned to see Dr. Y, he said, “I heard you telling Dr. X of that tubing being lodged in my nose, and I am here to see if you can find the end of it resting over here in my right nostril.” Dr. Y replied, “Oh no, oh no, you heard me wrongly -- there’s nothing in your nose, no tubing or anything. As I’m looking in your nose now, there is only the contours of your nose. Otherwise you nose is all right.” William said, “But when you cut that tubing and showed me the three inches of gold string or whatever you called it…” Dr. Y interrupted, “Oh no, oh no, you must have misunderstood.” Thus you have the miniature hospital, its ‘professional organization.’ its misrepresentation, false claims, inaccurate records, and a lot more. Most importantly, however, William Doe’s dry eyes, nose, and mouth continued. He finally made an appointment with another eye doctor, Dr. Z, who advise a daily application of baby shampoo and frequent use of artificial tears. After a few months of this self-treatment of the eyelid, dryness in all three areas had all but disappeared. Do we really need to define our most disgusting thought as of this moment -- that is, to have to realize that Dr. X may have had knowledge of the clogged duct being in the nose, but here he is in this instance presenting himself as an elementary hygiene student all because in William Doe the clogged duct was in the eyelid. We wonder how much Medicare money went down the drain or into the pockets of these medical ‘professionals’ and how easy it was for them to be able to pull off the hijacking of public funds. |
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