We all know that our healthcare system is broken. Despite attempts to fix it things have gotten worse. Healthcare is now more expensive, access to doctors has decreased and this trend is projected to continue with patients paying more and getting less.  Imagine seeing a physician who practices individualized medicine, one who spends time with you and your family, and will keep your medical information private for a fraction of what you are spending for medical insurance. Furthermore, imagine that you can access that kind of care now. A practicing physician has written a new book that gives an inside view and provides solutions that will show you how to navigate through the corporate controlled healthcare system known as Obamacare with its mandates and fines.
"Big Medicine: The Cost Of Corporate Control And How Doctors And Patients Working Together Can Rebuild A Better System" (Alethos Press July 20, 2015) is a new book By Elaina George, M.D. The book offers a unique perspective from a practicing physician who gives an inside view on how and why the healthcare system became broken, and discusses solutions on how to re-kindle the doctor patient relationship - the foundation of excellent truly affordable healthcare. "There is no question among doctors that limiting healthcare access will become the future. Adding 30 million more people enrolled in government-paid Medicaid into a system now shackled by reduced resources makes it impossible to avoid limiting access. Perhaps those members of congress who passed this nightmare didn't care since they made sure that it wouldn't apply to them." Writes Dr. George. In "Big Medicine" Dr. George explores these five reasons why the current healthcare system is unsustainable and why The Affordable Care Act will be unable to help as many Americans as it promised. They include: - Not enough doctors to deliver care.
- Not enough hospitals to care for the 30 million more people who allegedly will access the system.
- Mandates which lock individuals into a system that strips away their choice while making them pay for the privilege.
- Bureaucratic panels which micro-manage the entire healthcare system while establishing a plethora of regulations that demand compliance in the face of:
- Penalties for those who dare to buck the system, or who make mistakes.
- Prohibitive costs, finally admitted to, that are the outgrowth of the oversight needed to police this draconian system.
- How the ACA will lead to the loss of patient privacy.
"An unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act is the sacrifice of the doctor patient relationship enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath. The pressure for doctors to practice medicine driven by government mandated cost control measures will ultimately affect an individual's right to determine the course of their own healthcare." Writes Dr. George. "Those physicians that choose to practice individualized care in consultation with their patients and refuse to succumb to interoperable EMR's will be fined for not being "meaningful users of the system over time." The threat of fines, penalties, and possible confinement has many severe effects on physicians and patients. Forced to conform to federal edicts, the physician will no longer be able to practice medicine as he or she believes is in the best interest of the patient". In Chapter 12, Dr. George addresses how the United States government could hold Google or any other Big data company to a different standard from that which it holds a physician. "Since Big data companies are not limited by the strict confidentiality requirements of the doctor-patient relationship, they might be able to share health data for the right price. If a doctor discloses private medical information, he or she could be fined up to $250,000 and potentially be imprisoned up to 10 years." "More than 220,000 doctors already refuse to accept ObamaCare's new Medicaid enrollees, a number that is growing. Doctors want to care for people, but because Medicaid reimbursements are so low they can't do so and keep their practices open. Furthermore, doctors, who believe in the Hippocratic Oath, have declined to accept new ObamaCare enrollees because they refuse to work against the best interest of their patients." Making them agents for the government instead of advocates for their patients writes Dr. George. In addition to thoroughly discussing the current trajectory of the US healthcare system. Dr. George offers a prescription for several cost effective solutions of reform and strategies some of which doctors and patients can use now to shift the balance of power back to the doctor and patient and away from corporate interests which have injected inflated costs into the healthcare system. They include: - Use of independent physicians with private practices who are not employed by hospitals because they provide more affordable care.
- Physicians move to an insurance free model. eg., Direct primary care model, offer sliding scale, subscription based models, and barter.
- Physicians and patients use medical cost sharing (a non-insurance model allowed under the Affordable Care Act – eg., Liberty HealthShare – low out of pocket costs, no fines, no doctor or hospital panels and no fines (www.libertyoncall.org).
- Supplemental policies such as Aflac which pay a prescribed amount for medical occurrences (cancer, heart attack), hospitalization.
About Dr. Elaina George Dr. Elaina George is a Board Certified Otolaryngologist who is in solo private practice. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Biology. She received her Master's degree in Medical Microbiology from Long Island University, and received her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Dr. George completed her residency at Manhattan, Eye Ear & Throat Hospital. She is a member of The Leading Physicians of The World, and is on the advisory council of Project 21 black leadership network, an initiative of The National Center for Public Policy Research. Dr. George has regularly appeared as a medical expert on radio and TV shows including Cavuto and Newsmax. She hosts her own radio show, "Medicine On Call" and is also a keynote speaker for many organizations. "Dr. George channels her knowledge and medical experience into her prescription, returning medical care to patient-centered delivery based on excellent care at a reasonable cost. Our responsibility as patients and physicians is to advocate for ourselves and insist that we maintain our medical privacy and individuality, the cornerstone of the patient-physician relationship." — Marilyn M. Singleton, MD, JD "Dr. George has done an outstanding job of shining a spotlight on the many ugly truths about the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), legislation that is as close to a swindle as has ever been foisted upon the American populace. Every American owes it to themselves to understand the ramifications of the government and big business calling the shots when it comes to medical decisions, rather than the patient and his/her doctor. Reading this remarkable book, which advocates for the patient rather than Big Pharma, made us even more angry than we have been at the current White House administration, led by a President who misinforms and lies at every opportunity. Luckily, George outlines some positive steps every individual can take to regain free market medicine in the USA. This book is must reading for anyone who wants to be empowered by the truth about today's healthcare system." – Dee Long "The question: To what extent will poor, middle class, and elderly (Medicare) lose access to these independent physicians and small group practices? Unless the ACA is changed significantly, they surely will. Dr. George's well-written tome helps us to consider these critical questions. Dr. George reminds us that ultimately, health care is about the needs and welfare of patients. And ultimately no one is better able to okay health care recommendations and make economic decisions than are patients in partnership with their trusted physicians. That's why public policy in American health care needs to empower patients and their families to control where dollars for health care and insurance protection will go. Dr. George's fine book helps show the way." – Lee Beecher, MD "Dr. George has written a comprehensive guide for Doctors and Patients that will help them navigate through the maze of corporate bureaucracy that exists in the healthcare system today. The Book offers valuable solutions that bring back the importance of the Doctor and Patient relationship which is the foundation of Medicine." Deidre Young | 
Comments
Post a Comment