With service this bad, why does anyone keep coming back?
Aol came out with an interesting article called “10 signs to dismiss your doctor” by Katherine Steinberg.
- You can’t get an appointment
- 2nd opinions are scorned
- Bad bedside manner
- Refusal to reveal records
- Foregoing face time
- Lackluster listening
- Surly staff
- Failing to return calls
- Product pusher
- Less than total recall
Its an interesting set of complaints and it brings up how poor service is in healthcare today. In a system build on the needs of insurance companies and employers, its no wonder how poor the experience has been for consumers of the system.
This highlights the need to bring to the fore (and reward!) docs that do this right. MDVIP appears to be building its network of primary care providers to guarantee great service for a pretty hefty up-front service fee. On the cost side, poor service quality is driving consumers across the border to low-cost, largely undifferentiated services with unclear quality. The Mexican option may be what results if healthcare continues the insurance-driven race to the lowest cost provider.
Our mission then, is to adjust the system to reward docs, but do it in ways that the average individual can afford.
