America’s Physicians’ Ongoing Battle

Last Friday’s New York Times illustrated a universal problem with America’s healthcare system; the one in which doctors with smaller practices are struggling to stay afloat, make ends meet and ultimately pass along their practice in order to retire. The article specifically follows one physician – Dr. Ronald Sroka of Crofton, Maryland – who has been in practice for 32 years in his community. After deciding to retire, he attempted to sell, and then give away, his practice. To no avail.

“Dr. Sroka’s fate is emblematic of a transformation in American medicine,” explains the New York Times, going on to say “doctors like him are increasingly being replaced by teams of rotating doctors and nurses who do not know their patients nearly as well. A centuries-old intimacy between doctor and patient is being lost…”

While, “patients and doctors often complain that appointments are rushed,” it is likely that healthcare reform will only worsen this problem. Compound that with the fact that “half of American citizens have a chronic disease like high blood pressure or diabetes” and require more thorough examinations from their healthcare providers. So patients, of whom many have chronic illnesses, aren’t getting the time and attention they need from their physicians. And physicians, like Dr. Sroka, are overextended just to make ends meet.

So what’s the solution? Concierge medicine, which has been around for years, is more relevant than ever. SignatureMD ‘s model of concierge medicine is dedicated to assisting doctors like Dr. Sroka have more flexibility and more time for patients,  practice preventive medicine, and be prepared to retire when the time comes, while also helping patients attain the attention and understanding they require from a physician.

Personalized medicine is the future of heathcare. Don’t you want to be a part of it?

About SignatureMD

SignatureMD is one of the nation’s largest firms providing initial conversion and ongoing support services to concierge medicine physicians. SignatureMD currently partners with over 200 affiliated primary care physicians and specialists across 35 states, and its network is rapidly expanding.