What prevents doctors from spending more time with their patients?
Dr. Virgie Bright Ellington: Insurance companies run medicine in the U.S. They are for-profit companies with shareholders and investors that want to make more money every year. The insurance companies are directly responsible for how much time your doctor will spend with you. They pay doctors a certain amount per diagnoses, which in turn means doctors want to see more patients per hour so that they can afford the overhead of their practice, i.e. utility bills, employee salaries, and employee healthcare. In order to make more money, the insurance company has to ask the patients to pay a higher percentage of the premiums and co-payments and/or pay the doctors less. Usually it is a combination of all three. What questions should someone ask to get their doctor’s full attention? At the very beginning of the visit, tell your doctor, “Look this is what I’m concerned about and this is what I’m afraid of. Now that you know something about me doctor, what is the most important thing that I shou
