About Dr. Ackerman
"Shots"
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Articles
 
Medifocus Guidebook on
Peripheral Neuropathy
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Are Doctors Slowly Being Squeezed Out of Making a Living? 
Doctors aren't the only professionals in the United States suffering financially from the techniques invented by health maintenance organizations, insurance companies, and the like, which are designed to avoid paying any more than absolutely necessary. Hospitals are losing unbelievable amounts of money, many going bankrupt and forced to close. Small pharmacies have been disappearing as giant conglomerates take over. The friendly corner pharmacist who has serviced a community for many years is becoming a thing of the past, replaced by the impersonal service supplied by poorly paid, inexperienced employees who themselves are harried by long lines of waiting customers. Although profits may be going down the drain, many formerly successful pharmacists, finding themselves with their backs against the wall, have decided to forego joining with oppressive insurance companies that are bleeding them dry. The alternatives are to close up shop and go work for one of the conglomerates, or look for other sources of income. Apparently, many have decided that it's easier to compete with doctors than it is to fight big business. And so, a new phenomenon is spreading across the map - the corner drug store is rapidly becoming the "new place for checkups" as reported by Sandra Levy in the April 1, 2002 publication "Drug Topics."
Yes, I have noticed that Ms. Levy's article appeared on April Fool's day. However, I can assure you that this is not an April Fool's day joke. I have seen it with my own eyes. But there is a sad twist to her observation. In her article she tells the story of Steve Cone, R.Ph., and Beverly Schaefer, R.Ph., of Katterman's Sand Point Pharmacy in Seattle who lost the prescription business of 300 families because the pharmacists decided not to accept two contracts. They had refused to go along with managing a formulary, and low reimbursement. They chose instead to add new incentives for their clientele. Beginning with immunizations in 1996 at a very reasonable price of $10 they then proceeded to offer cholesterol and blood sugar testing.
Since then, many pharmacies offer testing for blood pressure, full cholesterol panels, body composition/ weight management consultations, bone mineral density screening, and massages. Patients pay out of pocket, effectively eliminating the insurance company as middleman and thereby keeping the price low.
Ah yes, what is the sad twist that I referred to? Unfortunately for the small pharmacies, the large conglomerates seem to be getting into the act as well. Free blood pressure machines have appeared, and immunizations for flu and pneumonia are becoming routine. After all, business is cutthroat, and the object is to squeeze out the competition.
And yet, is there one more twist still to come in this story of greed and self-preservation? As pharmacies take over a domain once restricted solely for physicians will they one-day end by cutting their own throats? Doctors are quitting the profession in larger and larger numbers while younger men and women are looking into more lucrative fields of endeavor. As the numbers of physicians slowly shrink, so too may the numbers of prescriptions being written. Those remaining in the field can only make up for the volume by working longer and longer hours until they become saturated. Will the end result be that even the large pharmacy conglomerates will fail as their source of income shrinks due to a dearth of physicians, and tightening regulations by HMOs and insurance companies? Hospitals have been feeling the pinch for many years. Very few remain financially sound. Many are either going under or joining together in order to share the meager crumbs. We can only surmise as to what the future now has in store for pharmacies, physicians, and of course, us.
Pardon me but I'm really confused,
Where do I go when I'm ill?
Called my doctor but got refused,
And was told to pay my bill.
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Seems doc decided to go back to school,
And retire at age thirty four,
Let me tell you doc is nobody's fool,
For instead he's taking up law.
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So I called my HMO for a name,
And they gave me phone numbers galore,
But someone must be playing a game,
'Cause each one was just a drug store.
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Cartoons and Poems following each article are created and copyrighted by Dr. Ackerman and cannot be copied or reproduced without his permission.
Copyright © 2006 by Marvin Ackerman, M.D.
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Relax! It’s Only Your Doctor’s Waiting Room, Not the ER: Or How to Get Along With and Understand Your Doctor is an insightful but irreverent intrusion into the complexities of modern day medicine. Listen to an interview with Dr. Ackerman
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