I also admit it's one of the times I check my work email. This morning, while walking Bucky, I received an email from one of my physical therapy colleagues at 6:30am, about a patient who was struggling .....
So I called him. For the next 20 minutes, we discussed the patient, our common concerns, learned from each other's perspective, and also learned about how we can better team together for other patients. It was helpful. Bucky approved.
Later this same morning, I had a pre-work discussion with someone who works on the business side of medicine, and he commented about how the national trend is clearly for physicians to leave private practice and become employed physicians, and I was the first person he's met in the past 4 years who went in the other direction.
The reason for that trend is because physicians are scared by the crushing forces of the Accountable Care Act, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and "Big Medicine" in general. What I told this gentleman is that I am scared too, and this may be in part why I am having conversations with physical therapists at 6:30am, why I am having a meeting with him at 7:30am, and why I ultimately will do a better job with patients. I don't have any guarantees, and my success depends on me simply being bettter.
One of the mottos we have at Lake Washington Sports & Spine is that "People who want the best need doctors too." I've seen the trends of big medicine, and how that drives complacency. When you don't feel like your patients are "your" patients, but are part of a "systems" patients, you treat the patients the same way you treat a rental car.
When you own the business, you take a call from a colleague at 6:30am. You meet with business people to learn more about the community need. You reset the Keurig at your office to make sure that the coffee doesn't spill while they get ready for their appointment. You strive to be better.
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