Patients Hold the Key to Solving the Primary Care Crisis

Patient education followed by advocacy will be the most important driver of change in today’s fragmented healthcare system, according to a recent article in Medical Economics. Stephen Schimpff, MD, former CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center and author of The Future of Health-Care Delivery: Why It Must Change and How It Will Affect You, makes the case for direct primary care as a reasonably priced alternative for working families, ultimately saving money by improving preventative care, eliminating unnecessary referrals to specialists, and reducing costs for essential laboratory and radiology testing. Patients will need to lobby on their own behalf, maintains Schimpff, and convince legislators, insurers and employers toward a model of direct primary care for all.  Read more at Medical Economics