

Start-Ups Aim to Transform Visits to the Doctor - edw519
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/start-ups-aim-to-transform-visits-to-the-doctor/?hpw

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carbocation
I made this point on the NYT website but it hasn't shown up yet, so I'll make
it again here.

What is the problem that these startups are trying to solve? It is explained
in the last paragraph: Still, Mr. Kibbe said, 'part of the problem with the
health care system is physicians only have a small amount of time to see
patients face-to-face,' and these new tools increase their interaction.

Very clearly, they claim they are trying to fix the fact that physicians only
have a small amount of time to see each patient face-to-face.

But that is a problem that patients, not doctors, face. Specifically, patients
spend lots of time waiting around for their chance to speak with a doctor.
This is because a doctor's time is (seen as) so valuable that people are
willing to wait. Basically, time with a doctor is a scarce resource.

Now, take a look at this from the doctor's perspective. Clinicians have
optimized schedules. When they are seeing patients, they blaze through many
per hour. Time is almost always being used efficiently, because there are
several patients waiting for the doctor.

So, this brings us back to the main problem that I have with these startups:
they claim that they are trying to increase the amount of time that physicians
and patients can spend face-to-face. What they are really doing is cutting
down on the amount of time that patients have to waste while waiting for their
doctor. Sure, this is a problem for patients, but it is not a problem for
doctors - and it is certainly not one of the critical problems in the health
care system today that we must resolve now. This does nothing to give doctors
more time to see more patients, because most doctors are already using their
time fairly optimally (with the exception of having to fill out insurance
paperwork, which is not related to any of the issues addressed by these
startups anyways).

