Crafting Illusion & Creating Collusion: How Insurance Industry “Spin” Controls Medical Practice

Doctors–and their patients–have much more to fear from Wall Street than from the government, says Wendell Potter, former director of corporate communications for CIGNA health insurance. Following a crisis of conscience during the debates on the Obama administration’s health care reform plan, Mr. Potter left CIGNA and went public with everything he knows about the insurance industry’s “Dark Arts.” His goal? To wake people up to the ways in which corporate interests manipulate health care policy. His book, Deadly Spin, is as fascinating as it is frightening. In this exclusive interview, Mr. Potter spoke with Holistic Primary Care about the long history of collusion between organized medicine and Big Insurance—an uneasy alliance that has ultimately been detrimental to patients and physicians alike.

Escape From McMedicine

Six years ago I left my job and invited my community to design an ideal medical clinic.  I’m not alone. Thousands of physicians across America have opened more ideal, patient-centered practices.

When the Bubble Bursts…An Interview with Dr. Garrison Bliss, Medical Director, Qliance

Garrison Bliss is as interesting as his name. The Seattle internist has been at the forefront of the direct-pay health care movement. As Medical Director of Qliance, an outcomes-driven model of direct-pay primary care, he is out to prove that medicine is more effective and cheaper when doctors are directly accountable to patients without third party interference.  In this exclusive interview, Dr. Bliss lays out the realities of direct pay practice, his prediction about how the tables are turning on insurers, and why primary care will undergo a rebirth once the current health care bubble bursts….and it will!

Want an Ideal Clinic? Collaborate With Your Community

Dissatisfied with assembly-line medicine? Dreaming of life off the hamster wheel? Don’t wait for politician-saviors. Convene with your neighbors.

Physicians nationwide are taking a novel approach to healthcare reform: They’re listening to citizens. All across America doctors and patients are joining together to create ideal clinics, hospitals, and regional healthcare systems based on the real needs and wishes of the communities they serve. Could the future of American health care begin in your own backyard?

PCI Offers “STEPs” for Building Prevention-Focused Practice

Physician Consulting Inc, a Colorado-based consulting company, is helping primary care physicians across the country develop thriving prevention-focused practices through incorporation of safe, effective, and scientifically-sound non-pharmaceutical therapies.

New Survey Data Highlight Convergence of Conventional & Holistic Medicine

Data from Holistic Primary Care’s first annual survey of primary care physicians reveal that some very positive changes are going on in the trenches of clinical practice these days. A lot more physicians are turning toward holistic approaches, with nutrition taking a much more prominent place in day-to-day practice. It seems that the “integration” we’ve been hearing so much about is really happening!

Making the Transition to Concierge Care

Two years ago, Dr. William Lee was like many family physicians, stuck in a treadmill of a group practice that forced him to see 20-30 patients per day just to keep from going under. Then he discovered concierge-based practice. Dr. Lee describes his transition to a model that enabled him to fall in love with medicine again.

Despite Recession, Concierge Practices Show Brisk Growth, Excellent Outcomes

The “concierge” or membership approach to primary care is growing at a brisk pace, and appears to be fairly recession-proof. Moreover, it can significantly improve clinical outcomes for patients, even those of fairly modest means.

Reducing Overhead is Key to Primary Care Survival

Primary care reimbursement is not likely to rise any time soon. If anything, doctors will continue to face downward economic pressure. If you want to survive, you need to learn how to cut practice overhead without compromising patient care. Dr. Brian Forrest, a major advocate for low-overhead practice, offers tips for cutting practice costs, saving money & improving your bottom line.

Healthcare Reform Makes Primary Care a Prime Focus…But Don’t Expect a Raise

Mr. Gerry Sikorski and his team of 85 health care attorneys at Holland & Knight, a DC-based law firm, have plumbed the depths of the new health care reform bill. They’re uniquely qualified to advise doctors on what to expect. Their bottom line? While the reform plan considers primary care and preventive medicine as essential, it isn’t putting much money on the table for primary care doctors, and it isn’t going to make it any easier for solo & small group practices to survive.