Healthcare: Is Your Health Cared For?
The U.S. healthcare system prioritizes volume over quality—why patient advocacy is crucial.
Primary care doctors in America see an average of 20 patients/day (translation: about 24 min/patient, which includes direct patient contact AND associated clinical paperwork). These numbers are problematic when correlating direct patient care with advancing patient health outcomes. This is particularly detrimental for patients with more complex medical concerns who have medication prescribed to them by multiple specialists who are, most often, not in communication with one another.
There is no sanity in this ‘healthcare’. It doesn’t promote health and the focus is not on patient care. Working in an adjacent field to medical doctors, I see from the front lines the difference in health outcomes between patients who have clinicians who work in silos, rarely if ever communicating, and those who have providers dedicating time in their week for collateral contact (which would necessitate reducing the number of patients seen in a day).
The solution is so obvious, it’s so simple, and it will never happen without transparency and advocacy from the inside — consumers demanding more time, demanding a thorough read of diagnostic bloodwork to look for red flags, demanding communication between prescribing doctors. Demanding. I’m here to tell you (as a consumer and as a provider) if you don’t advocate and if you don’t demand, then you will not receive.
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This is the primary reason I do not work with insurance panels and would rather offer sliding scale payment options- allowing me to have 60-90 minute sessions. It also eliminates insurance paperwork thus creating more time for me to communicate with the patient’s other providers [psychiatrist, PCP, OBGYN, nutritionists, DACM, etc], increasing health outcomes [mental health included in that umbrella term!].
The current healthcare system in the U.S. is set up in a way that prioritizes volume over quality, leaving patients with fragmented care and poor outcomes, especially when multiple specialists are involved. The solution, though simple, requires a shift in how we approach healthcare—more time, collaboration, and, most importantly, advocacy.
Patients have the power to demand change by expecting better communication between providers and by advocating for themselves. I’m sure we can all agree that it is time our healthcare system supports and nurtures patient well-being in meaningful enough ways to improve current health outcomes in America.
Key Takeaways:
Primary care doctors in the U.S. see an average of 20 patients daily, limiting quality time for patient care.
The lack of communication between specialists leads to fragmented care, negatively impacting health outcomes.
Advocacy from both patients and providers is crucial to demand better care, communication, and time spent on each patient.
Choosing sliding scale payments and avoiding insurance panels can allow longer, more effective sessions and better patient-provider communication.
Consumers must demand a healthcare system focusing on patient-centered care and holistic health outcomes.
