WEBVTT - Why does the Healthcare System Suck? 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:06.800 What's up It Sauce on the side, episode thirty Huh, 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:07.400 I don't really know. 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:08.200 Thirty seven? 0:00:08.400 --> 0:00:10.639 Are you sure thirty seven was last week? 0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:13.160 Nope? Last week was thirty six according to a listener 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:13.800 who DMed me. 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:17.000 Why not just pull up the thing, Because, first of all, 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:19.479 thank you, whichever listener that was that DMS, love you 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:22.400 for that. I appreciate when people give a shit about 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:25.520 stuff that we are trying to do. Okay, let's see, 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:29.880 last week's episode was episode You're right the fuck it 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:31.880 button was thirty six, so this is thirty seven. 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:33.400 Yeah, okay. 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:35.000 So I'm excited about this one for a couple of 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:37.839 reasons because this is a friend of mine from like 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:40.400 way back in the day, and I love her very much, 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:43.080 and she's doing something very different. She is a primary 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:46.960 care physician, and she's sick of the healthcare system and 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:48.800 the way things work, so she's branching out and doing 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:51.360 something completely different. And by the way, this interview was 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:54.360 recorded like a week or two ago, and she reached 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:56.880 out to me yesterday and told me she's going to 0:00:56.920 --> 0:01:01.160 be doing something even more amazing and that it was 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:03.600 a sign from us because she was listening to the 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:05.320 show and she was like, Okay, I was looking first 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:06.840 sign and that's it. I'll tell you what it is 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:09.280 at the end of this. Okay, are you ready? Yes, 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:16.520 it's doctor Kummel Core. She's a doctor. Specifically, what kind 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:17.400 of doctor are you? 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:18.160 Hi? 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.160 Everyone, I am Board certified in family medicine and as 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:23.920 of last year, I'm also now Board certified in lifestyle medicine. 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:25.320 What is the name of your practice and where can 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:25.600 we find? 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:26.039 Oh? 0:01:26.280 --> 0:01:31.199 So, Thattice is called k Core MD. That's kkau R Space, MD, 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:34.679 and I'm located in Coral Springs, Beautiful Coral Springs, Florida, 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:38.280 Broward County, and you can visit our website kkau r 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:41.840 md dot com. And I can also talk to you 0:01:41.880 --> 0:01:43.560 directly if you just call the office. 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:45.160 One day and ask for you specifically. 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:46.600 I'll probably be the one answering the phone. 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:48.280 But yes, what is lifestyle medicine? 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:51.400 Everybody knows a GP or a general practitioner or you know, 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:54.240 primary care physician is usually an internal medicine physician or 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:55.279 a family medicine physician. 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:57.200 I'm going to tell you I don't think everyone knows that. Okay, 0:01:57.280 --> 0:01:57.640 you'd be. 0:01:57.640 --> 0:02:01.400 Very surprised, so I will probably take for granted that point. Then, 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:04.320 So internal medicine physicians are trained to treat adults eighteen 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:07.800 and over. Family medicine physicians are trained to treat from birth. 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:11.680 To forgive me for saying this grave, so we handle 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:14.600 the whole spectrum, or we're trained to handle the whole spectrum. 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:16.320 I hate saying it that way, but that. 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:19.280 People die, we know that, I know. We join goal 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:20.880 is to keep them on the planet as long as 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:23.400 possible and as healthy. Yeah. Absolutely. 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.440 And then lifestyle medicine. So over the last several years, 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:30.359 especially after COVID, we've had a huge influx of patients 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:33.239 wanting natural remedies. They don't want to just go to 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:35.760 medications anymore. They want to know how can I heal 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:39.680 my body? How can I prevent disease without putting junk 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:44.640 into it? Forgive me big pharma and causing potential side effects, 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:47.560 et cetera, et cetera. So lifestyle medicine is based on 0:02:47.680 --> 0:02:50.720 six pillars, and we use those pillars and their evidence 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:55.200 based approaches to prevent, treat, and manage chronic conditions. And 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:59.280 they're really simple. Exercise, eat healthy, get enough sleep, avoid 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:02.360 risky substance like alcohol and drugs, all the bad stuff. 0:03:03.200 --> 0:03:06.560 And social connections. That's a huge one that a lot 0:03:06.560 --> 0:03:10.320 of people don't understand that having meaningful social connections actually 0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:15.000 can alter your inside workings and your DNA to a 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:19.000 certain extent. And then the last one is stress management. 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:21.200 Those are all the hardest things to get a hold of. 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:24.320 Every single thing that you said, sleep more. I would 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:26.040 love to. I wake up at three thirty of the 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:28.560 morning every day, and if I go to bed at 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.440 eight o'clock, I feel like I've missed the entire night before, 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:33.320 which it is my job than the next day to 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.240 talk about that entire night before. But there are a 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:37.560 lot of things that we all need to be doing. 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:39.280 We talk about all the time on the show, On 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:43.120 the Big Show, Actually, how loneliness is an epidemic. If 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:45.960 you are lonely, it really is taking a physical toll 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:46.560 on your health. 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.600 Oh yeah, absolutely. And even though we're so connected in 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:52.800 so many ways with technology now, we have never been 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:55.440 more lonely as a society. And I can't speak for 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:58.480 every country, of course, but definitely in the United States, 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:02.040 most of Northern America, if not, we're not really meant 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:07.320 to live in isolation and be away from others, and 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:10.080 you know, we feed off of energy of others. Vibes 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.720 are a thing feeding off of you know, your neighbor's energy, 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:16.360 your friends' energies. That's a very very important part of 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:17.239 your overall health. 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.479 So I started this out by saying, I'm fascinated by 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.599 something that you're doing or what you've done. I would 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:24.039 like you to tell it in your own words versus me. 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:26.760 Try to say it. I'm going to give the thesis 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:30.560 statement and then you fill it in. So essentially, you're 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:34.160 part of a practice. Yes, yes, you decided that practice 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:37.120 wasn't for you based on a lot of things like 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:39.560 maybe you weren't able to give your patients the care 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:43.599 that you wanted to give them, maybe insurance got in 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:46.560 the way of the care that you wanted to provide. Absolutely, 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:50.080 and you basically said fuck it, I'm leaving, and you 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:52.440 broke off on your own so that you can take 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:54.360 care of patients the way you want to take care 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.520 of patients for as long as you want to take 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:58.720 care of them, and you're doing something completely new all 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:03.240 by yourself. Yes, Okay, what did I miss there? 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:04.320 Absolutely nothing? 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:06.720 Wow, Oh my god, I did such a good job. Yeah. 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:09.120 No, you did you pretty much? You know, nailed it. 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:12.240 Long story short. I have been wanting to be a 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:15.920 physician since I can remember. I remember as a four 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.440 or five year old having one of those little doctors set, 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:21.320 which maybe you can relate to. This isn't unusual coming 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:22.560 from an Indian background, It. 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:23.080 Sure is not. 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:25.320 I think all Indian parents just hand their kids the 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:27.320 little play doctor's kit in the hopes that you know 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:28.760 you're going to grow up and do this one day. 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:30.320 Here's your coat in your fake stethoscope. 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:32.640 Yeah, and that's all I can remember. There was never 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:34.800 a plan, B, a plan see. No, no, this is what 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:37.200 I'm going to do. This is my calling. I lost 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:39.400 my father and my second year of medical school, took 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:43.480 a year off, handled a bunch of not school stuff, 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:48.000 family business. My grieving mom pushed my grieving to the side. 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:49.960 It was a tough time, and then I had to 0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:51.839 ask myself what do I want to do with the 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:56.000 rest of my life? And I went back into school. Finally, 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:57.960 I graduate and I get out into the real world 0:05:58.040 --> 0:05:59.960 and I land my dream job, which was to work 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:03.000 at Cleveland Clinic. Because it is such a prestigious organization. 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:06.320 I wanted to be part of their academics, their research, 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:09.200 and I just wanted to be in it all and absorbed. 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:10.640 You're so Indian. I love this so much. 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:13.520 This is so great, and I wanted to be absorbed 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.799 by all of it. So here I am at Cleveland Clinic. 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:20.400 Years later, I'm practicing. I'm so excited, bright eyed, bushy tailed, 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:22.640 and doing what I always dreamed of. I couldn't have 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:26.479 been more blessed. And then as the rose colored glasses 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:28.560 started to come off, I started to see the system 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:30.240 for what it was. And this is not a knock 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:33.560 on Cleveland Clinic itself. It is a great organization. It 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:37.679 is more reflective of the healthcare system in general. Having 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:40.800 a primary care physician is knowing that you have somebody 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:42.240 in your corner when you need them when you're sick, 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:43.360 right as that's what you want. 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:44.080 To believe exactly. 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:47.160 Yeah, So you as a doctor have that responsibility to 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:49.200 get to know your patients, to really get to know 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:52.720 their personal life and their diseases and how to keep 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:54.920 them healthy. That's what we're here for. But when you 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.320 see twenty to thirty patients a day and you spend 0:06:57.360 --> 0:07:00.920 less than ten minutes per person, you're supposed to develop 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:03.960 any kind of meaningful relationship. I mean, honestly, I felt 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:06.159 like shit when I had to tell my patients, Oh, 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:08.240 we can't talk about all your problems today. We can 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:09.920 only talk about one. You're gonna have to come back 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:12.720 next week or whenever the hell for the next problem. 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:14.840 Which it could be bigger by that point, exactly. 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:17.000 How horrible is that? And I'm like, this is not 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:19.440 what I dreamt as a kid that I would be 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:22.960 doing like this rush Rush medicine a factory. It's a factory. 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:24.640 It's a factory, and patients are cattle. 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:25.760 And it's horrible. 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:27.600 It's absolutely horrible. Nobody should be treated that way. I 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:30.280 don't want to be treated that way. So I left 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:34.880 that organization. And then I was hired by another organization 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:38.040 in South Florida to lead their transformation into telemedicine. And 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:39.280 this was right before the pandemic. 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:41.880 So, oh, you got ahead of the curve. I did. 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.920 I did, and I again hashtag blessed because I was 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:47.440 in the right place at the right time, completely catapult 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:50.640 in my career. I made great connections, I learned a lot, 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:52.720 so I was growing as a physician, which was most 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:55.280 exciting to me. And then I got put back into 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:57.960 the same rigamarole because of the needs. They opened up 0:07:58.000 --> 0:07:59.800 a new office and needed a primary there, and I 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:01.880 was like, I love doing this, so why not you know? 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:04.360 But then I realize, Man, this is the same shit, 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:07.080 different day, and even they know that this is wrong, 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:10.360 but they're bound by certain handcuffs to not do it 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:13.080 any other way. Then that's when I decided, what am 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:14.680 I doing with my life? This is not how I 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:17.440 want to be treating patients. I go home really pissed 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:20.360 off every day because I couldn't talk to missus Smith 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:23.120 about everything that I needed to talk about. Honestly, for 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:26.560 like an elderly patient, that's pretty fucked up, very much, SLF. 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:28.040 You want to take care of them like you're taking 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:29.760 care of your grandma. I wouldn't do that to my grandma. 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:30.960 Why am I doing it to Missus Smith? 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:31.200 Right? 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:33.720 That's an example, by the way, that's not a real. 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:36.200 Person, right, because we all know this exactly. Actually I 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:37.679 don't know that we all know this again back to 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:39.880 the first point. But yeah, no violating hippie here. 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:41.920 As a lot of people may or may not know, 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:45.760 doctors are leaving by the droves because we're being burnt out. 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:48.120 We're being forced to practice medicine in a way that 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:51.840 is not conducive to optimizing patience health care. And it's 0:08:51.960 --> 0:08:53.640 just it's really really disheartening. 0:08:53.720 --> 0:08:54.720 It's actually terrifying. 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:58.000 It is because I mean, for instance, all of us 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:00.600 in this room right now, we're all under fifty, and 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:02.400 who's going to take care of us when we're older? 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:04.920 Right if people are leaving the profession, and people are 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.480 not going into the profession. And I said, you know what, 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:09.240 fuck it, I'm going to take a risk, and this 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.800 is my last shot, and God forbid, if this doesn't 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:13.320 work out, we're just going to pack up and move 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:16.160 to Bangkok or something like excellent. 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:17.880 Choice, very well priced. 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:21.520 So, yeah, I decided to open up my office, my practice, 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:23.680 and I'm the only physician there because I'm the only 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:25.440 one that I trust to take care of patients the 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:27.559 way I do. Not that I'm the smartest cookie in 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:31.600 the jar, but I fucking care. And so with this practice, 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:33.679 it is a direct primary care practice, and a lot 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:37.960 of physicians are going into this because we are unshackling 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:41.560 from the handcuffs of insurance and of government regulations, and 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:43.480 we're really trying to treat patients. 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:44.679 Like the old days. 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:47.480 The way I treat my patients is they come into 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:49.520 my office and we're there for however long they want 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.280 to be there or need to be there. I should say, 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:52.920 we do what we need to do for them. They 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:55.000 have my cell phone number, they call me. I answer. 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:59.320 And a lot of individuals are kind of familiar with 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:02.160 this model because they know it as concierge medicine. But 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:04.720 what sets us apart from concierge medicine is and concierge 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:06.760 medicine when you go to see the doctor, you're paying 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:09.800 that monthly fee or that retainer on a yearly basis. 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:11.760 Can you give me an approximation of what that Yeah? 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:13.880 Yeah, So it depends on what part of the country 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.319 you are. But I'm in South Florida and it could 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.240 be anywhere from five to fifteen thousand, depending on a month. 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:21.520 Yes, No, No, a year. Oh, I was like, holy god, 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:22.480 a year. 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:27.839 And these are great physicians, but they're not. They're not neurosurgeons. 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:30.319 They're not somebody who requires a heck of a lot 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:34.640 more training than what we primaries do. They're there's nothing 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.400 extra about them except that they're probably more seasoned. So 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:39.640 they have more wisdom under their belt. And that's great 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.199 point is we try to keep our rates affordable. And 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:46.120 the other thing that sets us apart from concierge medicine 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:49.600 is that concierge medicine physicians still charge your insurance. So 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.120 when you go in, you're still paying copey, you're still 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.200 subject to your deductible, so you're getting bills. Forgive me 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:57.920 for saying it like this from both ends. Honestly, we 0:10:57.960 --> 0:10:59.599 don't do that. We're kind of like Netflix or the 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:01.880 gym or a country club. You pay one monthly fee 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:04.400 and all your services are in there. And then if 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:06.160 you do have insurance and we need to do like 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:08.920 extra blood work or we need to do X rays 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:10.679 or have you see a cardiologists, then that can run 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:15.120 through your insurance. But for your primary it's a direct relationship. 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:16.160 You need me, I'm there. 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:19.360 That's it. So somebody could essentially come to you not 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:21.240 have any insurance at all, just pay your monthly fee 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:23.120 whatever it is, and get all of the care that 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:25.319 you would give somebody. As far as being a primary 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:28.440 care physician general practitioner, yep, what if they do not 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:31.200 have insurance and they need to go to another specialist. 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:32.680 Then they're coming out of pocket for that. 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:36.079 Generally they are coming out of pocket for that. What 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:39.240 I try to do is, honestly, I've tried to develop 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:44.199 community relationships with physicians who understand the importance of giving 0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:46.480 care the way that we give it, but also that 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:49.120 a lot of patients don't have insurance and that shouldn't 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:51.440 be a barrier to getting good care. So a lot 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:55.240 of specialists will give my patients a discounted rate or 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:58.080 get them in as soon as possible. They'll figure it out, 0:11:58.160 --> 0:11:59.720 there's payment plans, et cetera. 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:01.760 I really really. 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.480 Want to emphasize that if you don't have insurance. I 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:07.520 would hate for anybody to think, oh, I can't get 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:09.000 good care because I don't have insurance. 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:10.800 Now do you have people on your team who will 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.920 help someone out that comes to you without insurance and says, 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:15.880 I need these things done. I don't even know where 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:18.439 to go because it's a game. You have people who 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:19.440 will help with that. Yep. 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:22.479 It's a very complex healthcare system, whether you have insurance 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:25.120 or not. To navigate it to figure it out, I 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:28.160 mean shit, sometimes even I'm like, wait, what are we 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:29.600 supposed to be doing? And you know, what makes it 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:31.400 complex is the insurance company. 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:33.160 Of course they're the worst. 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:35.120 Yeah, because you have to do X, Y and Z 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:36.600 in order to get the care that you need, even 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:39.439 though you need that care. Now, it's a whole fucking game. 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:42.120 It's ridiculous. But back to your point about the no 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.720 patients without insurance, we will make efforts to try to 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:49.280 connect them to services that are reasonably priced. 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:53.880 So in a dream world, let's say fast forward five 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:56.199 years from now, ten years from now, what does your 0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:58.079 practice look like? Is it still just you? Do you 0:12:58.120 --> 0:12:59.040 want a network? 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:03.360 I think as this phenomenon of direct care grows, there 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:06.559 will be more and more physicians that will come into it. 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:09.280 Me in my four walls in my practice, I honestly 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:13.360 don't foresee bringing on any other doctors or any other 0:13:14.200 --> 0:13:17.640 care providers. I like having my little intimate environment. I 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:20.800 like having when my patients come in, they feel like 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:23.840 VIP because they're the only patient in the office. There's 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.840 not fifty million people running around. It's a very calm environment, 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:29.920 and you know, they feel special and they feel taken 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:31.880 care of. I feel like if I were to expand 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:34.760 my four walls, that feeling goes away, and then it's 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.000 more like a clinic. And I know I'm a doctor 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:39.120 and it is a clinic, And even my husband will 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:40.760 tell you this. When I was remodeling it, I was 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:44.000 trying to make it as non clinical as possible, not 0:13:44.160 --> 0:13:46.199 like totally spa like, but a little bit. 0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:49.680 It looks very spall like, Yes, thank you. So when 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:51.600 you say that a patient can come in they schedule 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:54.160 an appointment with you, you're just focused on them. They 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:55.920 can stay there as long as they need to. How 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.439 does that work with scheduling, because at some point you've 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:00.120 got to have more than one appointment in a day. 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:02.560 Do you wait as long as you wait in other places? 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:05.520 Absolutely not. So my patients will know. Because it's a 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.800 membership program. It's kind of like not that we have 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:12.320 a finite number of patients, but we know who we service, 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:16.000 right and since we're so personal and one on one 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:18.480 with them, we can just pick up the phone and say, hey, 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:20.280 missus Smith, I know you're coming in at ten, but 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:22.200 I have someone coming in at nine and I just 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:24.000 don't want you guys to overlap, So how about you 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:26.360 come in at ten thirty instead? So when they're actually 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:28.920 in the office, they're not waiting for more than literally 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:31.040 two minutes. You knock on the door, you walk in, 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:33.120 and it's like, oh, okay, hey, let me sit in 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:34.680 the living room for a second before I get taken 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:36.280 back into the dining room to eat, you know, like, 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:39.320 it's not it's not people waiting out in the living 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.200 in the lobby type of situation. The main thing that 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:44.080 we do with scheduling is I don't schedule more than 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:46.520 three to five patients in a day because I want 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:48.640 personally to have at least an hour and a half 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:50.480 per patient. So even if I see the patient for 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.520 like fifteen minutes, because that's all they needed from me, 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:55.000 then I can spend the rest of the time working 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:58.520 on scheduling them for their follow up visits, coordinating their 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.160 care with their specialists, or getting the records from the 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:03.400 specialist so I could read what their cardiologists is saying 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:04.680 and we can all be on the same page. 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:07.600 So stuff like that. How is it going so far? 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:11.680 Because this is horribly horribly Why because people don't believe me? 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:14.720 Okay, So here's what I'm gonna say about that. It 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:17.360 is a wild concept, I think for anybody to think 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.200 about what do I do as far as joining what 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:23.480 you say, it's a membership program, which in itself sounds 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:25.640 a little salesy sounds. We got to come up with 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:28.000 a better name for this, because even though you have 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:29.560 to have a membership for it, when you pitch it 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:31.520 that way to somebody, they're going to be like, oh, 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:32.960 this is just a doctor trying to make more money 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:35.200 off of me, which the opposite is actually true, not. 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:37.880 Making any money. People, I promise you, I promise you. 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.240 If you don't join now, she's gonna be poor. But 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:42.360 I think that there's a lot that goes into this 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:44.600 and people just don't know about. Yeah, as far as 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:47.160 is this really a doctor? Is this person really gonna 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:49.240 take care of me? Do I really have the ability 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:52.160 to see her without insurance? So you're saying it's going 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:55.240 horribly for you? Now, is it just patient enrollment or 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:56.040 is it anything else? 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:58.800 No, it's patient enrollment because when I talk to other 0:15:58.840 --> 0:15:59.720 physicians about it. 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.240 By the way, this is not an ad. She has 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.680 not paid for any of this. This is just something 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:06.160 that I thought was cool and I thought we should 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:07.120 talk about it continue. 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:07.960 I appreciate that. 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:08.640 Yeah. 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:12.160 No, most people with whom I talk they're like, this 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:12.680 is awesome. 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:15.400 Oh my god. Yeah, you know this is my first thought. Yeah, 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:16.120 future of healthcare. 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:16.360 Yeah. 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:17.360 I was like, can you do it in New York? 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:18.560 And you said no, But that's fine. 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:22.560 I'd have to move or clone myself, which ever comes first. Okay, 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:26.440 but yeah, people, I think when I'm pitching it to 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:28.920 patients and I'm not a salesperson. 0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:30.160 And this is thank god. I don't want my doctor 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:31.120 to be a sales This is. 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:33.880 The most horrible part of this whole process is I 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:36.680 have to be that sleazy hey, come see me, and. 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:38.600 You don't hire other people to do it, hire a 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:40.400 team to do it for you. Well, you know what 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:41.600 I tried that. 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:44.640 I have hired and fired three marketing and PR firms 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:46.640 in the six months that I've been in business. 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:50.000 And are you like a bosszilla? No, not at all. 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:53.320 I would absolutely love to find somebody who I trust 0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:56.600