Doctoring The Way  It Used To Be Remember your family's doctor, the one you had 30 years ago? Remember the fellow with the black bag, who was revered as one of the family's trusted advisors, who was always there when you needed him? He knew you and he knew your family; he knew your personal history. When you were too sick to get out of bed, he ministered to you at your bedside. And the process of getting care was simple - you saw the doctor, who recommended treatment based on his training, you paid the bill, which was reasonable.

What Happened?

Today doctors have neither the luxury of delivering personalized care to their patients, nor control over costs. Why? Because the paperwork burden imposed by insurance companies requires us to operate a huge bureaucracy. Every decision must be justified to the insurance companies, requiring an enormous amount of time and resources and, often, compromised patient care. Supporting the insurance bureaucracy forces us to see 15 to 20 patients daily just to cover its cost. The result is a healthcare system that is expensive, inefficient and impersonal.