Primary care doctors are often treated as loss leaders in the business model of hospitals. Most hospitals experience a financial loss ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 per primary care clinic operated by employed physicians. This raises the question: "Why is this loss so significant?" To clarify, when referring to a hospital-employed primary care physician, it means a doctor who sees 2,000 to 3,000 patients annually, yet the clinic still operates at a loss that the hospital must cover.
In any other industry, such a consistent loss would be considered a poor investment. However, hospitals often view their primary care departments as high-cost triage units designed to funnel patients to specialists and surgeries, whether or not those services are necessary. This approach should raise significant concerns among patients, physicians, and those footing the healthcare bills. The perception of primary care as a financial burden rather than a cornerstone of patient care points to a systemic issue that warrants industry-wide scrutiny and reform.
Christopher Habig is co-founder and CEO, Freedom Healthworks.
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