I worked up until recently at a local doctors office, but will admit I did go back into home health where I can make a difference. See, the doctor’s office I worked at (trust me this particular one is not the only one guilty of what I am about to explain) treats a lot of skin issues. I would never ration health care or ever think one particular patient should receive higher care than another – neither does she. BUT.. here is where I have my issue. For example – when a skin problem, i.e. treating SO SO many patients with her new “blue light special” – now I would never begin to substitute my judgement for that of a trained licensed medical doctor – BUT when, for example Actinic keratosis which is often treated because of its potential to turn into squamous cell cancer could be and is commonly treated with either cryosurgery or topical treatments (particularly in the elderly) with minimal costs to Medicare/MEdicaid and/or etc: BUT and this is a BIG BUT: now is most often treated with ’THE BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL" AKA Photodynamic, or blue-light, therapy is utilized simply because the doctor has purchased one of the machines for the office and “needs to pay for” the machine. That is JUST wrong. Particularly the attitude “I have to pay for this” so kick up the treatments and bill the heck out of Medicare, secondary insurances and or Blue Cross etc etc…
Choosing treatments to “pay for” equipment is as old as the seas but just wrong. How does Medicare ever keep up????