The above was shared with me by Amy Walsh, MD of Doctor Direct MD. As patients get more comfortable with messaging their doctors the system is getting more uneasy about not being paid for said messaging. This is going to be massively controversial for the Cleveland Clinic but I understand what the doctors are going through. Imagine having 3000 patients and getting emailed all day because patients want to save money and not come in.
But guess what?
This is NOT an issue for Direct Primary Care! Obviously, you know that messaging, in any form, is included in the patients’ memberships.
So, where do we go from here?
One, let’s hope this spreads. Let’s hope the Cleveland Clinic is the tip of the spear and all systems start charging. Why do I say this? Because it would only help DPC and you can use it as a marketing tool. In fact, I think you can start with this image in your social media already and tell patients what’s on the horizon.
Second, maybe this will convince more doctors to leave the system. Do you really think the Cleveland Clinic is going to give all that money to the physicians? Probably, not. The doctors will get a pittance while still having to deal with the anger of patients when they complain about the bill.
In the end, doctors in the system will still be doing pajama work while hating their job. The systems like the Cleveland Clinic may make some money off this but the doctors won’t find it worth their time. Instead, let’s try to convince them that DPC is the only way to save our profession.
[…] Shouldn’t Doctors Be Paid for Responding to Health Portal Messages? – this piece is in response to the Cleveland Clinic charging patients for emails and such. The author mentions at the end that he is doing Direct Specialty Care and gives a nod to DPC. We blogged about this email controversy here. […]