ADVISORY e-ALERT     July 1, 2010
 
Advisory Law Group, a Professional Corporation
 
 
                                     
 
THE HEALTHCARE CON-vergence
 
 
Healthcare definition:  The Long Con - a meticulously planned, long term confidence scam designed to obtain a large return from the "mark."  The opposite of the Short Con designed to instantly fleece the mark of the money or property on his person.
 
***
 
Nobel Prize winner Nels Bohr commented that prediction is very difficult, especially about the future. 
 
But what did he know?  After all, they're handing out Nobel Prizes to almost anyone these days, apparently for what they might do in the future!
 
Certainly, some things are easier to predict.  For example, the very different role of physicians in the healthcare system of the future. 
 
If you're a frequent reader of my articles, you know that I believe that we don't have a healthcare system, but, rather, a healthcare market.  But, as words matter in persuasion, propaganda and politics, the public at large, and many within the market itself, were sold on the "system" approach - voila, there was a "system" to fix.  Of course, the fix was in; thus, Obamacare. 
 
So just how will physicians fit within the "system?"  A prominent role in return for the AMA's support of Obamacare?  Maybe not.
 
Consider these three trends that appear to be converging on your medical degree:
 
1.  The Struggle over Money and Control - As Obamacare has promised more care for less money, the battle over control of limited healthcare dollars and of the design of the delivery system has intensified.  Having the power to allocate money within a structure means that those in control will have the ability to shift funding to themselves and to their favored participants.  (See the May issue of the Advisory E-Alert for the article on Accountable Care Organizations.)
 
2.  The Shift to the Lowest Cost Alternative - With fewer healthcare dollars per patient to spend, those doing the allocating will be tempted to select the provider who offers the service at the lowest price.  There will be a predisposition toward acceptance of substitute classes of providers, and the adoption of lower standards as to what constitutes an acceptable substitute service.
 
3.  Doctorates for All - Just as it has become in pharmacy and physical therapy, the new gold standard in registered nurse education is a doctoral program awarding a PhD, DrNP, or other variant.  Nurses with doctorates want recognition of their status:  "Hello Mr. Smith, I'm Dr. Jones."  No, not exactly.
 
If there are less dollars to go around and if nurses and other paraprofessionals can, at least in terms of public perception, deliver the "same" service (or, at least, a level of service benchmarked to the mediocrity of "national healthcare"), and if those paraprofessionals are "doctors," can we then expect a major reboot of the "system" in which M.D.s are removed from the flow chart, or relegated to a less prominent role, and replaced with cheaper "doctors?"
 
Let's look at the CRNA vs. anesthesiologist war for a clue.
 
CRNAs trot out studies, including their latest American Association of Nurse Anesthetists funded Lewin Group study, concluding that CRNAs acting independently provide anesthesia services at the lowest economic cost, with no difference in the level of care. 
 
Political and economic pressure have forced regulatory change:  Fifteen states have opted out of Medicare's CRNA supervision rule, and CMS guidelines permit CRNAs to administer labor epidurals for the purpose of analgesia without physician supervision.
 
The battle is on for public perception, but nurses consistently come in first in the annual Gallup Poll on the public's opinion on honesty and ethical standards.  Even the English language has the odds stacked in favor of nurses.  (I wrote this short story to demonstrate:  "Sally nursed the escaped convict back to health.  Afraid he'd be identified, the convict doctored Sally's drink.")
 
Hospital administrators are already more willing than ever to accept CRNA delivered anesthesia from their contracted providers.  Á la the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers, once those nurses are "doctors," the transition will be complete. 
 
No Magic Pill
 
There's no magic pill to resolve this dilemma.
 
On the political front, there's the ballot box.
 
On the medical society front, there's tremendous P.R. work to be done to convince the public of the deceptive substitution of providers.
 
And, on the levels that can more easily be impacted by your personal involvement:
 
There's the fight, at the medical staff level, to protect patients by making certain that physicians control medical care and that paraprofessionals are supervised by the appropriate physician specialist in implementing that physician's orders. 
 
On the medical group level, it's avoiding establishing business practices that foster acceptance by your patients and referring physicians of your group's paraprofessionals as substitutes for your physicians themselves:  Physician extenders are one thing; physician executioners are quite another.
 
Whether by plan or coincidence, the substitution of paraprofessionals for physicians is a major element of the long con of national healthcare.  As they say, if you don't know who the mark is, it's you.
 
For help in waging your battle for your group's continuing role in healthcare, contact Mark F. Weiss now. 
 
 
_____________________________________________
ANTIMATTER AND THE DESTRUCTION OF MEDICAL GROUPS
 
 

visit www.advisorylawgroup.com/videos.html 

 
 
 ________________________________________
RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES
Accountable Care Organizations:  Accountable to Whom?, published on AuntMinnie.com on June 10, 2010.
 
 
_______________________________________ 
MISSING COPIES OF EARLIER ISSUES OF ADVISORY e-ALERT?

 

Want to read past issues?
 
Did you delete (by mistake, of course!) a past issue of Advisory e-Alert and want another copy?
 
No matter the reason why, back issues of Advisory e-Alert are available from the archive.  Click here.
 
______________________________________
 
ADVISORY LAW GROUP, a Professional Corporation
 
Tel:  800-488-8014 or 310-843-2800
Fax:  877-883-0099
 
10940 Wilshire Blvd, 16th FL
Los Angeles, CA  90024
 
1227 De La Vina St
Santa Barbara, CA  93101
 
The materials presented in this Advisory e-Alert are educational only and are neither legal advice nor a substitute for it. Advisory e-Alert presents a general discussion which may or may not apply to your particular legal or factual circumstances. The distribution of Advisory e-Alert is not intended to create, nor does it create, an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send us confidential information without receiving explicit authorization from Advisory Law Group to do so. Do not take or avoid taking any action as a result of the materials presented in this e-Alert without first obtaining legal counsel.   
 
© 2010 Advisory Law Group, All Rights Reserved
Let Us Know What Business/Legal Issues You'd Like to See Addressed in A Future Issue
 
Warning Sign
 
 
 
In This Issue
The Healthcare Con-vergence
Videocast: Antimatter and Medical Groups
Recently Published Articles
The e-Alert Archive
Hijacking the ACO: A Teleseminar
Complimentary Copy of 2010 Update
The Immediate Leader Experience
Mentor Program
The Wisdom. Applied. Blog
TELESEMINAR:
 
WHAT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT THE ACO
 
 
The chances are great that a hospital administrator is scheming to control your financial future through an Accountable Care Organization.
 
Learn what he or she has in store for you, and what you can do to to hijack the process.
 
Date:  August 18, 2010
Time:  12:00 p.m. PDT
Cost:  $97
 
Contact us at request@advisorylawgroup.com to register. 
 
________________
 
 
DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE ALG 2010 ANESTHESIA BUSINESS UPDATE 
 
 
 

Whether you're an anesthesiologist or another hospital-based or office-based specialist, there's tremendous value waiting for you in your complimentary copy of Advisory Law Group's 2010 Anesthesia Business Update. 

 
Click on the image below to access the download page.
 
ALG's 2010 Anesthesia Business Update
 

 Follow Us On Twitter - twitter.com/advisorylawgrp

 
 
THE IMMEDIATE LEADER EXPERIENCE™ 
 
 
 

You're a physician who wants to form a medical group and, among other things, subcontract with or employ other physicians, enter into exclusive contacts, obtain significant stipend support money, create related entities to increase protection and the like. And you want to come up to speed on all of this immediately.

Or, you're the new leader of an existing group with complex practice and business operations -- you need to understand how to master the group's organizational, operational and leadership issues -- and you need to be brought up to speed immediately.
 
After having regularly dealt for many years with physicians in both of these contexts, we've designed a process to deliver immediate results: The Immediate Leader Experience™.
 
The Immediate Leader Experience™ takes place over a weekend in Santa Barbara, California and includes two nights accommodation at the Four Seasons Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel. 
 
In two short days, you'll be entirely up to speed, totally prepared and confident.  You'll be armed with tools and sample documents.
 
Due to the nature of this program, admission is upon interview only -- there is extremely limited availability.
 
For further information on The Immediate Leader Experience™ follow this link.  
MENTOR PROGRAM 
For information on Mark's mentor program, click on the following link:  The Advisor Program.
 
________________
THE WISDOM. APPLIED. BLOG
Follow this link to Mark's blog, Wisdom. Applied.
 
________________
ALL ABOUT ALG
 
Join Our Mailing List