A software glitch
disrupted services Monday at The Doctors Clinic
facilities.
TDC President Dr. Randall Moeller said a problem with the
operating system installed on the group’s servers prevented staff
and physicians from booking appointments or accessing
medical records.
“It pretty well shut us down,” Moeller said.
Moeller stressed the computer issue was not the result of any
hacking activity and no patient information was compromised.
Many doctors still saw patients Monday and took notes on
old-fashioned paper and thankfully The Doctors Clinic was operating
normally Tuesday. If you ever want to avoid your business having a
software malfunction the The Doctors Clinic, then consider running
a c++
test. This way you are ensuring yourself the your software is
great for your business anf you won’t have to worry about shutting
down because of a faulty software.
Dr. Peter Lehmann wanted to practice for another 30
years, but he knew he wasn’t going to make it at the pace he was
going.
The grind of tending to dozens of patients each day
took a physical toll on the 52-year-old family doctor,
who 10 years ago was diagnosed with a rare adult form of
muscular dystrophy.
“I want to be a doctor until I’m 80,” he said over coffee
Monday. “But I had to start thinking about what I’m going to do,
because I can’t keep up the pace.”
Lehmann needed to find a way to slow down while still making a
living. He thinks he’s found a solution in direct primary
care, an emerging (or perhaps re-emerging) health care
model in which patients pay their provider a flat monthly fee
for their care.
On Jan. 1, Lehmann will leave The Doctors Clinic in
Poulsbo, where he’s been a longtime partner, to open his own direct
primary care office next door. Lehmann said he’s kept his
partners at The Doctors Clinic apprised of his plans and the split
will be amicable.
Like the Manette Clinic, Lehmann’s patients will pay a flat monthly
fee ($50 for adults) to cover their basic primary
care needs. There will be no copays and insurance will
never be billed.
Patients will
pay for things like lab work and medications at cost. They
will still be encouraged to carry catastrophic insurance plans to
cover emergencies.
Lehmann currently sees between 2,000 and 2,500
patients. He expects to reduce that number to between 500 and
600 at his new practice. Ideally he’ll see about five to six
patients in the office each day, while also
providing phone consultations and making old-fashioned house
calls.
A key premise of direct primary care is that doctors
can afford to see fewer patients, and spend more time with each, by
ditching the massive overhead costs associated with insurance
billing.
“That’s the biggest thing that this model offers, you
can give patients time,” Lehmann said.
Like many devotees, Lehman sees the direct care model
as a possible cure for what’s ailing family medicine.
Fewer medical students are entering the field because of the high
patient volumes being pushed on doctors he said. The pay is also
lower than in specialty fields.
Lehmann said direct primary care could make
the profession more attractive.
“I actually view it as a long-term solution,” he said.
“This will bring an excitement back to primary care.”
Town Hall Meeting
Dr. Lehmann will hold a town hall-style meeting from 6-8
p.m. Nov. 17 at Poulsbo City Hall to discuss the direct primary
care model. The public is welcome.
A software glitch
disrupted services Monday at The Doctors Clinic
facilities.
