AAFP Deletes My Post
I was very excited when Josh Umbehr MD at Atlas.MD told me that the AAFP had interviewed him and was doing a piece called Get the Inside Scoop on Running a Direct Primary Care Practice. As you can see from the link it is a webinar where he will be:
- discussing the evolution of the direct primary care model,
- sharing personal stories about improved patient care and physician satisfaction, and
- providing insight into how the model can revive a practice and increase its revenue.
That is when I noticed the comments. It seems Michael Oppenheim decided to put his two cents in by saying:
Concierge medicine is sleazy. It aims to maximize income and personal convenience. I’m comfortable labeling doctors who claim otherwise as hypocrites, and that includes several I know personally.
Really? There wasn’t even a story to comment on and yet this idiot has to give his personal opinion. And we wonder why family docs gets no where in this profession of medicine. Is maximizing income and personal convenience bad?
I decided to leave this comment on the AAFP New Now site:
Well, Michael, I am very pro “concierge” care as per the way Atlas MD does it. Now if you think his system is sleazy then that is your prerogative. Just as it is my prerogative to call you a royal douche.
Unfortunately, I received the following email:
Your forum post was deleted by a moderator.
Reason: Dr. Farrago, Please be advised that we are removing your comment because of the use of an offensive term, which is prohibited by AAFP commenting guidelines. Please keep this in mind when you make future comments. Thank you. Nancy Kuehl, Executive Editor AAFP News Now
Forum: AAFP News NowSubject: Get the Inside Scoop on Running a Direct Primary Care Practice — AAFP News Now — AAFP
Of course the person sending me this email, Nancy Kuehl, did not attach her own email address so I could respond…….but I found it with a little digging. I sent her this:
Was it the word “royal”? I will refrain from using that from now on. I promise. – Doug
Maybe it would have been OK if you’d called him a royal maroon?
How is “douche” worse than “sleazy”? Really, if the hypocrites at AAFP are allowing some name-calling, they should allow it all. Hmm…maybe it’s just the terminology. Needs some word-smithing. I think I’ll try to find time to locate this story and post. I’ll call the guy a “Royal Vinegar and Water Feminine Rinse Solution”
-V
I couldn’t agree more with Pat and Doug. If I could figure out a way to transition to this concierge type of medicine, I would do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately because I still owe hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical school loan debt, I doubt it will ever happen. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said “Healthcare For The PEOPLE, Not PROFIT” I was ROTFLMAO laughing wondering how many doctors out there would be willing to provide that Healthcare For The People without getting paid.
Agree with Pat. I work to make money to support my family. I never trust those who say otherwise. As for the AAFP, I stopped paying dues years ago–all I got for my money was throw-away journals (which I still receive) and requests for more money.
I read this juvenile’s reply and as per usual for supporters of a collective, he substitutes emotion for reasoned argument. In defining hypocrites, he only attacks profit and convenience.
What about the hypocrisy of subordinating the patient’s interests to per-authorizations, billing codes to to improve payment rather than precision, cost-shifting from government dependents to the working poor, the AMA, AAFP, et al promoting government control of their members, the necessities of defensive medicine, and on, and on…
For my money (ahem), I think medicine as now produced in this country is fundamentally dishonest. I’ll trust the doctor who states his profit motive forthrightly over the AMA/AAFP drone trying to wrap himself in the values of medical homes, meaningful use, and phantom “equal access”…this guy is no less concerned about his own profits than the concierge doc, but he’s not willing to admit it even as he attempts to appear more virtuous by damning those more honest than he.
Pat- you’ve hit it right on the head! I’ll second that.