Showing posts with label doctors cost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doctors cost. Show all posts
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Prior Authorization is not a guarantee of payment!
If you work in a doctors office, these words can strike fear into the hearts of all personnel. Whether it is for surgery, braces, newer medications, physical therapy, MRIs, CT scans and other medical tests, many require prior authorization. This can cost the office staff an entire day in trying to track this down. We as doctors are trained to know what is going on with our patients and what they need. Unfortunately, we spend a large part of our day being told that we are not able to get what we feel is necessary for the best care of our patients. This leads to a large amount of dissatisfaction among doctors. There has to be a better way to treat our patients well and not spend time fighting with "Peggy" to get their treatment plan instituted!!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Cost for the doctor to see you!
Recently Shopdme posted a great article breaking down how much your doctor actually makes when you go in.
The approximate breakdown of a $100 new-patient appointment:
$9 for malpractice insurance
$4 for equipment and maintenance
$8 for supplies
$6 for rent and utilities
$10 for office expenses such as telephones, accounting fees, advertising, medical journals, licenses, and taxes
$28 for staff salaries and benefits
$35 for the doctor
This does not include billing costs, legal fees if needed, the cost of implementing electronic health records or the cost of new equipment to keep up with the changes in medicine.
Most doctors graduate with large student loans.
I personally pay $2400 a month in student loans and have been for over 11 years. This means that I must see 69 patients a month just to cover my student loans. Then I can start earning money to cover food, housing, clothing, car costs, health insurance, and other expenses. If this cost $3000/month, it would take another 90 patients a month to see. That's 159 total. Reimbursement is lower for established patients. This doesn't include day care if the doctor has children or the cost of repairing equipment or their car.
The next time that you come in to your doctor. Please don't say, well, you're a doctor you can afford it. They have sacrificed many years of their lives and are usually in serious debt, to take care of people!
The approximate breakdown of a $100 new-patient appointment:
$9 for malpractice insurance
$4 for equipment and maintenance
$8 for supplies
$6 for rent and utilities
$10 for office expenses such as telephones, accounting fees, advertising, medical journals, licenses, and taxes
$28 for staff salaries and benefits
$35 for the doctor
This does not include billing costs, legal fees if needed, the cost of implementing electronic health records or the cost of new equipment to keep up with the changes in medicine.
Most doctors graduate with large student loans.
I personally pay $2400 a month in student loans and have been for over 11 years. This means that I must see 69 patients a month just to cover my student loans. Then I can start earning money to cover food, housing, clothing, car costs, health insurance, and other expenses. If this cost $3000/month, it would take another 90 patients a month to see. That's 159 total. Reimbursement is lower for established patients. This doesn't include day care if the doctor has children or the cost of repairing equipment or their car.
The next time that you come in to your doctor. Please don't say, well, you're a doctor you can afford it. They have sacrificed many years of their lives and are usually in serious debt, to take care of people!
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