Total Access Medical - Direct Primary Care Blog

Primary Care Can Save America’s Hospitals

Jan 27, 2017 by William Kirkpatrick

Primary care serves as the cornerstone for building a strong healthcare system that ensures positive health outcomes and health equity. The function of primary care includes managing new health complaints that pose no immediate threat to life, managing long-term conditions and supporting the patient in deciding when referral to hospital-based services is necessary. A key aim is to keep people well, by providing a consistent point of care over the longer term, tailoring and co-ordinating care for those with multiple health care needs and supporting the patient in self-education and self-management. 

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Aging Baby Boomers and the Future of Primary Care

Jan 13, 2017 by William Kirkpatrick

Have you ever heard of the "2030 Problem"? Well, the “2030 Problem” involves the challenge of assuring that sufficient resources and an effective healthcare system are available by the year 2030, when the elderly population is nearly twice what it is today. And, it's forecasted that this increase in population will have drastic affects on healthcare in the U.S. 

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Why Won't Supply For Primary Care Meet Demand?

Jan 04, 2017 by William Kirkpatrick

Imagine if the only place you could bring your child when he develops flu-like symptoms, an ear infection, a nagging cough, a sore throat or needs a checkup or a refill for his asthma inhaler, was to a hospital emergency room. You would be paying an exorbitant amount for basic care. But, that is what's happening today. With dropping incomes coupled with difficulties in juggling patients, soaring bills and policies from insurance companies that encourage rushed office visits all mean that more primary care doctors are retiring or leaving medicine altogether. In addition, medical malpractice lawsuits, now are common, adding more layers of paper work, expense and stress to virtually every physician’s day.

Unless immediate and comprehensive reforms are implemented by the government, primary care—the backbone of the U.S. health care system—will collapse and the repercussions will be worse than the 2008 housing crisis. Luckily, there’s still time. Primary care isn't dead yet but it is on life-support.

Here's why there are more primary care physicians leaving the medical field than entering. 

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The Consequences of Emergency Department Overuse

Jan 02, 2017 by William Kirkpatrick

Hospital emergency departments are a critical and indispensable component of the U.S. health care system which is why overuse has become a national concern and worry amongst hospitals, policy makers and healthcare providers. 

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The Impending Healthcare Bubble

Dec 28, 2016 by William Kirkpatrick

The U.S. is in the midst of a healthcare bubble that will put the housing bubble to shame. Here's an explanation. 

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Low Physician Moral Worsens Primary Care  Shortage

Dec 21, 2016 by William Kirkpatrick

Primary care physicians are downbeat about the future of the medical profession. 

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Primary Care Physician Burnout is a Growing Epidemic

Dec 02, 2016 by William Kirkpatrick

A recent survey uncovered the truth about what doctors think about primary care and healthcare today. The survey found that 49% of primary care physicians say they "often or always" experience feelings of burnout and more than half of the physicians have considered leaving medical field altogether.

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Why Insurance Is Destroying Primary Care

Nov 21, 2016 by William Kirkpatrick

Insurance is the root cause of the many problems and inconveniences patients face in primary health care today. From the overcrowded doctor schedules, packed waiting rooms, and flustered doctors to the overall degeneration of the patient-doctor relationship, insurance is the reason why primary care is failing and why you are not given the quality of care you deserve. 

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4 Reasons Why Patients Switch To Direct Primary Care

Nov 18, 2016 by William Kirkpatrick

When you go in for a visit with your primary care doctor, do you sit in the crowded waiting room for an unannounced amount of time? Does the staff seem overworked? Does your doctor seem flustered? Is he/she rushed to move on to the next patient? Well, these are all typical complaints of today's primary care system. 

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Why Doctors Are Transitioning To Direct Primary Care

Nov 16, 2016 by William Kirkpatrick

In the era of increasing regulatory oversight, more physicians are considering the direct primary care model as an alternative method of practice. 

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