Via Drudge: Indiana orthopedic surgeon James Rickert regards double-booking as a form of bait-and-switch. “The only reason it has continued is that patients are asleep,” said Rickert, president of the Society for Patient-Centered Orthopedics, a doctor group.
“Having a fellow so you can run two rooms helps augment your income,” he added. “You can bill for six procedures: You do three and the fellow does three.” The critical portion of the operation required by Medicare and designated by the surgeon can mean “running in and checking two screws for 10 seconds.”
Defenders of the practice, which has been the subject of a handful of studies with mixed results, say it can be done safely and allows more patients to receive care.
“It’s extremely important for us to make sure [all surgeries are] done with the highest quality,” said Peter Dunn, Mass General’s executive medical director of perioperative administration. Officials at his hospital, Dunn said in a recent interview, have “never traced back a quality issue” to concurrent surgery, which involves a minority of procedures.
“Having a fellow so you can run two rooms helps augment your income,” he added. “You can bill for six procedures: You do three and the fellow does three.” The critical portion of the operation required by Medicare and designated by the surgeon can mean “running in and checking two screws for 10 seconds.”
Defenders of the practice, which has been the subject of a handful of studies with mixed results, say it can be done safely and allows more patients to receive care.
“It’s extremely important for us to make sure [all surgeries are] done with the highest quality,” said Peter Dunn, Mass General’s executive medical director of perioperative administration. Officials at his hospital, Dunn said in a recent interview, have “never traced back a quality issue” to concurrent surgery, which involves a minority of procedures.
(Link to the whole article)
11 comments:
Double the billing, double the fun!
I suspect there are a number of surgeries that can be done in stages which would lend itself to parallel operations. This is what is great about free markets; it can determine faster than a government what can be done in parallel and what needs to be serial. Governments and middlemen will prefer serial, because it easier for billing purposes. For those who willing to pay for the success of the surgery; do they care that the doctor was able to help others at the same time?
"For those who willing to pay for the success of the surgery; do they care that the doctor was able to help others at the same time?"
Fuck me. The greed is disgusting.
If you have company in an Uber ride, the fare is cheaper than if you ride alone.
Now Lem, you sound greedy.
Right up there with lawyer bills 2 clients at once. Don't think it doesn't happen. It just takes a little "creativity."
Reading that piece made me feel naïve.
So, if the patient on the left has AIDS, will the patient on the right catch it? How sterile could this operating room be?
Sterile enough that the doctor is covered in his malpractice policy?
I'm amazed that a sterile field nurse would even allow a surgeon to run and out of it to do a dual patient surgery. Sounds like a practice that needs to stop.
Rabel said...
"For those who willing to pay for the success of the surgery; do they care that the doctor was able to help others at the same time?"
Fuck me. The greed is disgusting.
In the world of gaming and MMO's (Massive Multiplayer Online gaming) many companies do something called micro-transactions. Meaning, that if you want to progress in the game and make your gaming life easier you can use real money to buy virtual items to make your progression through the game easier while other people have to grind and grind and grind to get the same thing without spending money. We call the P2W or pay-2-win. In effect, this story is the same connotation. You are the patient, you want your surgery to succeed. Guess what, you are going to p2w.
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