Comments on: UNT Thinks an Osteopath is Inferior to an M.D.?

By: Lewis Schumer

Lewis Schumer — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:59:52 +0000

This is bad, but I almost hope we have another plague or something like Swine Flu squared that will make people stand in line for days to see a doctor. The problem is we are all relatively healthy in this country, and the poor get care, free care, they just have to wait for it. But when everyone has to wait, there is going to be an uproar like nonething you’ve ever imagined. Of course, maybe that will finish off the democratic party. And all of us.

By: TCOM Student

TCOM Student — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:17:37 +0000

UNT has never suggested that a DO is inferior to an MD. The Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine is expected to grow to 230 new students per class in the next two years after a new building is constructed to support the growth. Nationwide, 230 students is the normal large size for a good medical school. Thus, UNT is raising the DO program to the logical maximum size before the MD program is started. An MD class size of 100 is targeted to increase the physician supply and utilize existing facilities at UNT. This is a good way to create more doctors at a very low cost for a rapidly growing region that needs more physicians.

By: matt

matt — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:10:15 +0000

@DallasIsHometoJimmyCarter?!

Wow, doctors are the whiners? Yeah, Fred Baron and his ilk are the real freedom fighters in this country. 1 ambulance chaser down, millions more to go.

By: Candace Evans

Candace Evans — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:56:29 +0000

Amanda: Medical schools teaching business theory and practice management? Are you kidding? The current reimbursement system created by our government is a poster child of how NOT to run a business. If you are a medical consultant, surely you know what CLIA is. http://wwwn.cdc.gov/clia/default.aspx One tiny example: your nurse draws a patients’ blood, you don’t just throw away the needle in the trash. All medical waste has to be picked up by a company that disposes of medical waste according to CLIA guidelines. Guess who pays for that: the doc. Guess who doesn’t reimburse for that: the insurer. Get the picture: for years the government has been laying more and more regulations on the docs, all contributing to more overhead, while the insurers have been lowering reimbursements and patients whine about $10 co-pays. I’d love to see the day when a patient goes to the doctor, an intern hands her a bottle of Lysol and says, here, clean your own exam table. Bring your own paper and exam gown in, too. How are foreign doctors going to work for PCP wages and still maintain the laws imposed by our government if they practice here? Far less to give us all a plane ticket to India to go see a doctor there.

By the way, while you are all whining about physician pay, let me tell you vets now earn more than most physicians. And don’t even get me started on what Wall Street execs pull in… bonuses as large as what many physicians make in one year!

By: Peterk

Peterk — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:02:48 +0000

“It would be nice if we could go back to a cash for services system where A doctor would only deal directly with his patients on the cost of necessary healthcare.”

sure if the patient would pay their bill. I remember watching my father and mother sitting down at the dining room table each month preparing the patient’s bills. I remember one month dad commenting “I see where Mrs. soandso still hasn’t paid her bill. I notice she has not problem buying a new Cadillac each month”

By: amanda

amanda — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:30:10 +0000

MNS @ looks like you need a good consultant. My clients were happy AND profitable. It can be done, but for the most part, no medical schools were teaching doctors business theory and practice management until 15 years ago (and it’s still rare.)

And, yes, we need more foreign docs if they are willing to work for the wages made by PCP disciplines, which they are.

By: JB

JB — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:06:25 +0000

@ MNS
LOL. Yes, patients, by definition, are the largest group of whiners.

By: DOF

DOF — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:53:38 +0000

UNT TCOM in Fort Worth is already an excellent school. However, creating an adjoining M.D. program would open even more doors for the D.O. students. Area hospitals have said, flat out, that they will offer more rotation programs for 3rd and 4th year students only if there are dual programs – they do not want to be labeled as “D.O. Hospitals”. Currently some students must move out of state for months at a time to complete certain rotations. With that in mind, and also the fact that an M.D. program will bring in more funds, UNT TCOM has decided to explore this M.D. option. It is widely thought that if UNT doesn’t, another existing school will enter the Fort Worth community with a branch. We should be excited that a sorely needed medical school is being added to an underserved state and appreciate the people and revenue this will bring to the metroplex. And for the record, most young M.D.s and D.O.s think there is no difference between them and they treat each other with respect.

Aren: Whose resume?

By: MNS, MD

MNS, MD — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:33:46 +0000

@VDHOAWP
Tort reform has been great for Texas. Malpractice premiums have decreased and there are now areas in south Texas which could not attract neurosurgeons or OB-GYN’s who have been able to get these docs to come to practice. You are incorrect about premiums as the TMLT is one of the largest carriers in the state and it is DOCTOR owned. Doctors are for whatever is good for our patients…unfortunately the AMA endorsed health care reform hoping the SGR would be repealed without actually knowing what it was going to be. It is not that we want to cancel anything but remember that as of next year MC will pay cardiologists 40% less than this year…it is hard to be a big fan when that occurs or they pay primary care docs $12 for an office visit…that is below what it costs to keep their office open. Doctors=whiners? That really gets me mad. I spend 4 years in college, 4 years of medical school, 3 years in Internal Medicine training then 4 years of Cardiology training. I still work 60-70 hour weeks taking care of people who abuse themselves and expect us to fix them quickly and without any participation on their part. They call us at all hours (for which we don’t charge) and expect us to be available at nights and on weekends without fail. If we make a mistake we are sued often. With all that our incomes are steadily being and our President accuses us of abusing the system and treating patients based on their ability to pay. Candy is correct that many of us are terribly discouraged by all this and looking for a way out. Your sentiment is all too common these days….remember that when you have your heart attack and cant find a heart doctor to come in at 3 AM to save you life with an angioplasty.

By: JB

JB — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:03:09 +0000

It would be nice if we could go back to a cash for services system where A doctor would only deal directly with his patients on the cost of necessary healthcare. The first doctors who accepted insurance as a form of payment really let in a Trojan Horse into the doctor/patient relationship. Perhaps that is why doctors ‘whine’ the most. They have lost most of the control over their own profession. I wonder if government intervention will bring control back to the doctor patient relationship or take away what very little is left.