CHICAGO DOCTOR NEEDS A JOB AND RESPONSE TO BEN'S POSTING

[Guest guest]

Ben-I'm beginning to think that TransforMed and others alike will increase paperwork and other petty tasks. It's come to the point in a solo practice where I just don't care about these people trying to "change" things. Is the AAFP for or against those with solo practices?It's sometimes hard to tell. After 14 months I have 800 patients-70% Medicaid (most of those children). This is the area I'm in. If Medicaid doesn't improve significantly in the next year, I may have to rethink my future. I can't wait to see what Obama has in store for all of us ! I'm sure much of the same.I am aggressively trying to add different things to my practice, but Medicaid reimbursements are low and delayed so I can't afford the capital to do so. Sure-I can become an ideal practice and build an ideal micro practice over the next 2 years, stop

accepting Medicaid, fire one of my staff members, etc etc but I have a family to feed today. No time to go into further debt. Sallie Mae is breathing down my neck now. Going to work for somebody is sounding better and better every day-especially when I see the "per hour" rates for some of these urgent care jobs. Hey-if any docs near Chicago have a decent job for a young family doc, I'm willing to leave this behind! Willing to work weekends/evenings/take call/etc etc. I have ISMIE malpractice insurance, so it would help my situation if you my new employer had the same so I don't have to pay tail! Thanks!Subject: RE: transformed's medical home network

-- can it really work for a soloTo: Date: Sunday, January 25, 2009, 11:25 PM

The TransforMed group certainly appears to operate

from the perspective that solo and small group

practice is already dead-Just like the corporate

clients they're trying to cater to.

Their model is corporate group practice. I've seen

nothing from them that encourages me that AAFP has a

survival plan for the 2/3 of the membership that works

solo or in small groups.

They might as well be intellectually honest about it

and tell the AAFP rank and file "Save your dues, we

don't have the time, resources or inclination to work

on small practice survival- you're hosed. Go

elsewhere, go broke or join a big group."

Within the next 2-4 years, I think we'll know whether

Family Medicine as a specialty lives or dies.

The "survivors" will be back on the treadmill at Mega

Health Inc., supervising a fleet of extenders or

changing careers. We'll finally be Transformed, just

not in the way we'd like.

Ben Brewer M.D.