fammed2002
09-30-2006, 08:33 PM
Hello,
Working for Kaiser;
1) There is minimal to no physician autonomy present. The philosophy
is entirely corporate. It really does not matter what an individual doctor
thinks. One of the reasons that people studied medicine is that as a
doctor you would have some of this autonomy.
2) Patients have to be seen even if they show up hours late. You really
cannot tell a patient to reschedule. For example a patient with a 830 am
appt shows up at 1230pm; you still have to see them. For example,
you are seeing a peds pt and the parent asks the nurse if the other
sibling can be seen today; they don't ask the doctor they just put the
other pt on the schedule.
3) Pt satisfaction is more important than almost anything. For example,
a patient comes to you and requests 4 days off from work. As a doctor
you feel it is not warranted; the patient can complain about you as a
doctor and you will hear it from someone higher up.
4) The computer system in place takes weeks to learn all the nuances.
If you are a locum doctor they expect you to learn in 7 hours of
training what they teach over a period of weeks to their regular employees.
The computer system is very labor intensive; each encounter takes much
longer.
5) Pharm reps are not allowed to interact with doctors in the clinic/office.
Yes pharm reps sometimes are trying to sell an inferior expensive product
but they also show us the new drugs. The fact that they are not allowed
in the clinic is not good. You actually learn some new treatments and
guidelines from them but of course they should be relied upon for
keeping up to date. They do this so doctors choose the cheaper medication
and it keeps the cost down of treating patients.
I guess if someone can live with the above and would rather not have
the problems of running a office then it is an option.
regards,
fammed2002
Working for Kaiser;
1) There is minimal to no physician autonomy present. The philosophy
is entirely corporate. It really does not matter what an individual doctor
thinks. One of the reasons that people studied medicine is that as a
doctor you would have some of this autonomy.
2) Patients have to be seen even if they show up hours late. You really
cannot tell a patient to reschedule. For example a patient with a 830 am
appt shows up at 1230pm; you still have to see them. For example,
you are seeing a peds pt and the parent asks the nurse if the other
sibling can be seen today; they don't ask the doctor they just put the
other pt on the schedule.
3) Pt satisfaction is more important than almost anything. For example,
a patient comes to you and requests 4 days off from work. As a doctor
you feel it is not warranted; the patient can complain about you as a
doctor and you will hear it from someone higher up.
4) The computer system in place takes weeks to learn all the nuances.
If you are a locum doctor they expect you to learn in 7 hours of
training what they teach over a period of weeks to their regular employees.
The computer system is very labor intensive; each encounter takes much
longer.
5) Pharm reps are not allowed to interact with doctors in the clinic/office.
Yes pharm reps sometimes are trying to sell an inferior expensive product
but they also show us the new drugs. The fact that they are not allowed
in the clinic is not good. You actually learn some new treatments and
guidelines from them but of course they should be relied upon for
keeping up to date. They do this so doctors choose the cheaper medication
and it keeps the cost down of treating patients.
I guess if someone can live with the above and would rather not have
the problems of running a office then it is an option.
regards,
fammed2002