Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Steering Principle


Check out this article in the LA Times. They do a good job explaining how grading doctors is full of problems yet the horse is out of the barn and is not going away. The whole goal is for insurance companies to save money and "steer" patients away from certain doctors. Sounds great, doesn't it? Here is my favorite piece from the article:

Some of the measures that matter most to consumers aren't included in many rating systems, experts say. They include doctors' interpersonal skills and other concerns such as: Do the doctors spend enough time with patients and answer their questions? Do they stay on schedule or do patients have long waits?

Check out those last two sentences. Patients want doctors who spend enough time with them but ALSO stay on schedule. Hmmm. Yeah, no conflict of demands there.


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