Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute's John Uribe, MD, spoke to Becker's ASC Review about competing motives, documentation burden and career satisfaction.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for style and clarity.
Three quotes from an interview with Dr. Uribe:
1. On why same-day cancellations occur: "The insurance companies are trying to figure out how to not pay, the doctors are trying to figure out how to get paid, and obviously, the hospital system wants to get paid, and it becomes a quagmire. And the person that seems to suffer the most is the patient. They come in and they think everything's set up, and the next thing you know, they have to put a down payment or pay a sum they weren't expecting, and they can't come up with it and their case gets canceled."
2. On how EMRs add complication: "It's frustrating because the requirements of what needs to be documented change. It seems like the more complicated they can make it, the more they can delay their payments, and then more of the burden is put on the patient, and in the end, too, the physician. It becomes a very frustrating situation because just to get things authorized in a timely fashion [is difficult]. You have a patient, for example, with a locked knee or an acutely torn rotator cuff that would be so much easier and better managed if it was done quickly, and then you have to wait and wait."
3. On why orthopedics is rewarding: "Orthopedics is a beautiful profession and the technology has improved so much over the last 30 years with minimally invasive and arthroscopic techniques, and truly, the implants. Everything has improved so much. We're such a quality-of-life specialty, and we have been able to significantly improve the quality of life that people lead over the last 30 years. It's just amazing what has transpired in orthopedics."
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