The dentist’s office called today to remind me of my yearly  check up.  It’s one of many annual courtesy calls, letters, and emails I receive reminding me to get up off my copay and come on in.  Now, Charmin didn’t call to tell me I need toilet paper, Kellogg didn’t call me to see if my strategic cereal reserve was running low, and GE knows that I will know if I need a light bulb.  The practice of medical specialties is lucrative in a time when Baby Boomers are physically and emotionally deteriorating and a place that is their destination.  There is opportunity here.

But many Private Practices are the new Ma and Pa companies, who made a great widget but had not a clue about fiscal management, human resources, marketing or customer service.  Some will compromise care, others will collapse under their own weight.  Larger companies will absorb some of the overwhelmed and left standing will be practitioners who do good business. 

I am grateful for good health.  I am offended by the insurance guru who (usually inaccurately) explains what I owe before I have a diagnosis, the admonishing technician who recoils at my refusal of services that I do not find medically necessary, and the panel of witnesses that attend my checkups to double document the doctor’s actions in case of future litigation. 

I think I am a generous evaluator.  I have been a private practitioner and I know the challenges of wringing out third party payments, being pressured to squeeze treatment into a limited number of visits, and teaching the janitor about HIPPA while delivering great care. 

Would anyone like to join me in a rant? --- Nicki Nance