Amnesty Re: Did anyone hear this on the Today Show this morning???

October 31, 2008

The problem is this. For a clinician to get a good initial visit, it

can take 1-2 hrs. I can say from my entire quarter of assessments

class to do a *complete* assessment would take at least 1 hr, and

that's with prior history paperwork filled out. Then you get into what

direction you think you should go. A family medical practitioner gets

paid about $26 per visit from most health insurances. No biggy if

you've seen that client over & over & they are there for a specific,

easy treatment such as strep throat or a sinus infection. But to truly

assess all major body systems, develop what lab tests to be run, etc,

it takes time.

Now consider a clinician has to pay at least a receptionist, medical

assistant, rent, utilities, equipment, insurance, etc. They cannot

make it on $26/hr. No practitioner could. Now others, such as

geneticists, neurologists, etc get higher payouts per visit because of

their specialty. Some of the best DANs are family practitioners.

A lot of them are dealing with the dilemma by saying they will charge

X amount per hour and then they can take as long as possible to ensure

they do everything they feel they need to do.

We either need to get higher payouts from insurance or have such a

large center that you can turn & burn enough clients to clear the

expense. It's not to get rich, though I accept some DANs are

overcharging. The truly good ones, the ones in it for the right

reasons, as I plan to be, are not getting rich. I've already told my

husband not to expect me to make anything, I will not be able to turn

away kids in need.

Debi

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