How much is a doctor worth?

How much is a doctor worth?

In general, all health professionals receive very little from their health plans. I'm going to talk more specifically about doctors, as follows.

To those who ask me why I don't work with health insurance:

• My first appointment usually lasts more than an hour, and each return more than 30 minutes.
• Most of the most popular health insurance plans pay between R$ 30 and R$ 45.00 per consultation. In addition, they oblige the doctor to return up to 30 days after the first consultation, without any additional remuneration.
• I usually re-evaluate my patients less than 30 days after their first appointment, in order to monitor them more closely.

So do the “insurance calculations”: if I work 10 long hours from Monday to Friday, considering the “traditional” movement of an office with 50% of first consultations and 50% of returns, I will see 15 patients (in my current patient care model), receiving around R$ 200.00 per day (10 returns, mostly unpaid, and 5 first consultations). But let's remember that this is the gross amount... Assuming expenses of 40% to maintain an office (or pay a percentage to work in one), that leaves R$ 120.00 net per day. At the end of a business month, after working more than 200 hours and seeing more than 300 patients, you'll have a “salary” of around R$ 2,500.00 left over. This already takes into account more than the normal 8 hours of work per day (for any other professional) and assumes that the office is always full and that the health insurance companies don't make any disallowances (they don't stop paying for the services performed).

As a result, many medical colleagues are forced to see more patients a day, with less time for each one, increasing their working hours, which generates more stress and wear and tear. And add to that: no health insurance pays for the time a doctor spends studying and keeping up to date, for the benefit of the patient (including congresses, courses, specializations and the like)...

For all these reasons, I'd love to be able to take care of the dozens of patients who call every week wanting to make appointments with a health insurance company. But how can I do this without reducing the consultation time and penalizing the patient? After all, we all have bills to pay.

Read the recent news story below and see what I've said. Something is really wrong and it's hurting everyone, doctors and patients alike, don't you think?

” How much is a doctor worth?

Consultation is less valued than services in general

The average consultation fee for an individual health plan, which in 2008 was R$ 40.39, fell to R$ 38.93 in 2009, according to data from the National Supplementary Health Agency (ANS), based on official information from the operators themselves. Data from medical organizations shows that there are health plans that pay less than R$ 25 per consultation, lower than the amounts declared to the ANS. In São Paulo, the average amount paid by health plans is R$30.00 per consultation.

In March 2010, there were 43.2 million Brazilians linked to 1,195 private healthcare plan operators. In 2009, doctors were responsible for monitoring more than 4.7 million hospitalizations of health insurance users and carried out more than 223 million consultations with this population of supplementary health users.

While the value of medical consultations fell, in the same period the revenue of medical-hospital operators grew by 8.1% from 2008 to 2009. Health plans earned R$ 63.9 billion in 2009. When comparing the value of medical consultations with the various general services provided (see table below), one can see the devaluation of medical work by health plans. A doctor's visit is worth approximately ten times less than 40 minutes of entertainment by a magician at a children's party; six times less than a clown's performance; five times less than a progressive blow-dry at a hairdresser's and is less valued than occasional services by bricklayers, painters, plumbers, electricians etc. Most of the time, a medical consultation requires an anamnesis, physical examination and complementary tests in order to arrive at the final diagnosis and the appropriate therapeutic approach and treatment.

All the professions mentioned below deserve respect, recognition and due appreciation from society. The comparison has the sole purpose of revealing the neglect of doctors by health plans.”

- Average national cost of a medical consultation with an individual health plan - Source: ANS/2010. Data from medical organizations show even lower values, below R$ 25.00 per consultation. OBS: Average values for other services. Source: Datafolha/Datacasa - Price survey based on information provided by agencies specializing in domestic services and advertisements in the main newspapers in the city of São Paulo.

Go there and check it out: www.quantovaleomedico.com.br