Breach of Privacy in California

It seems that every day now I'm reading about privacy breaches of people's private medical records. As we move into the future of medicine, with capabilities of genetic testing for impending disease and so many services of prevention and treatment that insurers are unwilling to pay for, do you want your insurer to have access to any of this information. When you recognise that your insurer will not be paying for cutting edge prevention and treatments, why would you give them any access to that private information, especially when this just gives them ammunition not to cover a preexisting claim later on?Personal Pediatrics Pediatricians will be offering cutting edge medicine in their practices regardless of coverage by insurers. What could be more private than intimate visits at home by your child's personal pediatrician and password protected access to his medical record encrypted in similiar fashion to our banking industry?? Consider the modern pediatrics office, a privacy nightmare. Charts everywhere... chief complaints written all around attached to patient names... loose lipped staff gossiping about this child's condition and that social situation. Thin walled exam rooms that leak the most delicate of conversations as doc's bound from one room to the next, usually seeing four or so patients at once. Having done this for 10 years in practice I can surely say we place privacy at the level of utmost importance for the Personal Pediatrics administrative support system.
Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis Affiliate House Call Pediatricianb

Health Care Consumers Favor E health Records

It's time to play Today in E-Health Business' "Family Feud." When asked how interested are you in accessing your personal health information electronically, "Survey said": 65% of the public respondents say they are interested in accessing their own personal health information electronically, according to a new study by Lake Research Partners and American Viewpoint for the Markle Foundation. Segments of the public most likely to express interest include Americans under 40, those who use the Internet daily and parents, the study finds

The Personal Pediatrics administrative support system features electronic access to records for both patient and affiliate pediatricians. Families benefit from the record at their fingertips and doctors benefit from drastically reduced staffing in their practices.

Powderhouse Productions

Personal Pediatrics affiliate pediatricians have a new benefit with the implementation of new media through this alliance. Streaming web video content through the eyes of Natalie Hodge MD founder and CEO of Personal Pediatrics, Inc, seasoned pediatrician and savvy mom of four, will be available for download free as an educational tool for new families and parents across the country. We will also help connect new parents top our afiliate pediatricians in zip codes across the country! Parents will benefit from this down to earth content that helps them sail the ship of parenting in a user friendly fashion.

Medicare moves to pay for performance for docs

Medicaid is deciding to pay doctors a bonus for performance measures. It seems that the bonus is quite small, 1.5 percent. In pediatrics this would translate to a couple of dollars for a visit. In other specialties as aneshesia and surgery it is clear how this performance may be measured... But in a specialty as pediatrics... Hmmm... Did your doctor take a good history and physical? Did your doctor come up with the right diagnosis? Did your doctor prescribe the right medicine? Did your pediatrician actually see you in the office vs a nurse practitioner?? I'm curious to see how this will play out in pediatrics. What I found when I converted my practice over to the Personal Pediatrics affiliate Program is that it actually costs less money to see medicaid patients for free. Most affiliates will keep a small percentage of medicaid patients 10 percent or so, and just do it pro bono. Now keeping up with these performance measures and reporting them to medicaid, I feel confident that this will cost the private pediatrics practicioner well more than the meager 1.5 percent bonus. The Personal Pediatrics system with its low overhead and affiliations with Operation Smile and Doctors Without Borders enable affiliates to actually take time off and contribute also to World Pediatric Health Issues without it costing 20 grand a month in overhead. Now this is the Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today. Natalie Hodge MD Affiliate St. Louis

Canadian Doc advocates for Market Forces to Fix Healthcare In America

The Cure by Dr. Grazer a Canadian doc notes that because Americans depend on insurers for health reimburement, they don't care so much about their health care bills. Of course that is all changing, with our skyrocketing costs. His point is that we can do things medically that we could not do 30 years ago and the bottom line is that that costs money. He advocates that the market naturally evolve in America rather than implementing a single payor, as in Canada. We are seeing this evolution as families use high deductible plans and combine them with new practices that charge patients directly, as the old pediatrics system is languishing in dysfunction of commoditized healthcare in which the average patient waits an hour to see a grumpy doc because he's only making 23 dollars and 50 cents for the visit. The
Personal Pediatricssolution is just one of many niche healthcare solutions that is rapidly evolving. Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis House call affiliate Pediatrician

Consumers Question Value of Electronic Medical Record

Look at this...

Despite all of the studies and articles on the benefits of electronic health care records to health care, most consumers are still not convinced that the technology will improve their medical care, finds a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). According to The Top Seven Health Industry Trends of '07 survey, the reason why there is no public mandate for EHR systems in the U.S. is because of the lack of consumer belief that EHRs actually boost medical care. PwC adds that out of the 1,000 respondents to the survey, 24% say they do not believe that having an EHR will improve the quality of health care and 42% are uncertain. How do we change public perception?


Here's the thing?? Does your doctor's EMR enable him to come to your house and make convenient personalized house calls for your children?? Probably not, unless your pediatrician is using the Personal Pediatrics house call affiliate system. The EMR does help doctors run a little faster on the same treadmill, but the PP system allows you to hop off the treadmill, provide simple convenient care for a yearly retainer and contract directly with your patients who access their record through the PP web portal. Consumers like this. Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis PP affiliate house call pediatrician.

New Options for Generic Drug Prescribing

Families may now take advantage of Walmart's 4 dollar prescription generics for children, or they may opt for their Personal Pediatrics house call affiliate pediatrician to mix up their amoxicillin right at the bedside from our PP generic pharmacy. What do these two options have in common?? They do not involve paying a 20 to 30 dollar "copay" for a four dollar generic drug!! They days of Blue Cross Blue Shield profiting from these inexpensive drugs is over. The other options just make too much sense. Natalie Hodge MD Personal Pediatrics House Call affiliate Pediatrician, St. Louis

Two new healthcare pharmacy niches

Families may now take advantage of Walmart's 4 dollar prescription generics for children, or they may opt for their a href="http://personalpediatrics.com/">Personal Pediatrics house call affiliate pediatrician to mix up their amoxicillin right at the bedside from our PP generic pharmacy. What do these two options have in common?? They do not involve paying a 20 to 30 dollar "copay" for a four dollar generic drug!! They days of Blue Cross Blue Shield profiting from these inexpensive drugs is over. The other options just make too much sense. Natalie Hodge MD Personal Pediatrics House Call affiliate Pediatrician, St. Louis

Walmart takes the low road, Personal Pediatrics takes the High Road

It is clear to see the two ways that healthcare is heading from the events of 2006. MDVIP an administrative support company out of Boca Raton Florida, receives six million of venture funding to expand their operations. They help internists convert their practices over to a retainer based model, reducing their dependence on conventional health insurer reimbursements. There are several notable companies who are moving in the direction of setting up health care clinics and hiring nurse practitioners to staff them. Minute Clinic and Take Care health Systems are two of these. There is a key problem that all of these companies solve. Americans are tired of waiting around for doctors in their overrun offices. The MDVIP solution is for the affluent and upper middle class. The Take Care and Minute Clinic solution is for everyone else. But what about the multitudes of babies and children that sit in overrun pediatrics practices, getting virus after virus from their contacts in those offices?? There is yet another BIG healthcare solution for children, parents and their frustrated pediatric caregivers. The Personal Pediatrics administrative support solution reaches far beyond the streamlining of the typical EMR for pediatricians. It solves several of your core problems in pediatrics practice. Bill McClellan said it best in his column about Personal Pediatrics last week, "Doctors can't control their revenues and they can't control their costs. The health insurers control their revenues and the market controls their costs" The Personal Pediatrics solution addresses both of these concerns drastically slashing overhead in a never before seen way. It also creates a rare value proposition for customers, a direct agreement with your doctor for a set of services that insurers would never consider addressing!! Natalie Hodge MD Personal Pediatrics Affiliate House Call Pediatrician St. Louis

Personal Pediatrics Aligns with Consumer directed care

This article stresses the importance of IT for Physicians wahting to provide the healthcare of the future.


To help ease the financial and management burdens that will come from consumer-directed health (CDH), physician practices must invest in health care IT first, finds a new report from First Consulting Group. According to the report, EHRs are a must first step for physicians wanting to compete in a CDH environment. However, FCG cautions that not any EHR system will do. The consulting firm says it should be an ambulatory EHR system that has decision-support capabilities, e-prescribing, and the ability to report on performance as a result of documenting care. Physicians will also need to store and exchange information electronically, so they can give consumers the comparative quality and pricing information they want, the report adds.


The Personal Pediatrics administrative support solution for pediatricians takes healthcare IT to a never before seen level. We are the pediatricians of the future who talk to patients directly, contract with patients directly for their care, slash our malpractice risk and costs, dramatically cut wasteful office overhead by an amazingly simple practice method, the house call. Our company supports a seasoned network of pediatricians via a web based paperless platform that recreates the relationships that are lost in pediatric medicine. Get ready for the Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today. Natalie Hodge MD

Cigna notes Consumer Directed Care Increases Prevention

Look at this:

CIGNA Finds Consumer-Directed Care Lowers Expenses, Increases Preventive Care

Reprinted from the Nov. 24, 2006, issue of INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE, a biweekly newsletter with timely news and insightful analysis of benefit design, contracts, market strategies and fina

The latest consumer-directed health study from a large health insurer confirms what previous studies have found: CDH enrollees tend to receive more preventive care and typically have lower utilization rates than do those enrolled in more traditional managed care plans.

This month, CIGNA Corp. released a study based on an analysis of 38,200 members (from 44 employer groups) who were enrolled in a CIGNA HMO or PPO in 2004 and migrated to a CDH plan in 2005. The vast majority (86%) were enrolled in an HRA-based plan, while 14% had an HSA-based plan. Trend comparisons were made to a "control" population of nearly 232,000 HMO and PPO enrollees from the same employer populations. Recent studies from Aetna, Inc. and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association have had similar findings. CIGNA released preliminary findings last February.


Funny how Sick care insurers are interested now in Prevention?? Having spent 10 years practicing pediatrics with denials for any preventive pediatric codes, I find this late in coming. What will cigna do when many users spend 4000 a year on health insurance rather than 13,500? When familes pay their Personal Pediatrics Affiliate Pediatrician directly for attentive preventive at home care and combine this with a high deductible plan, Pediatricians will begin to recoup some of those shareholder dollars that Blue cross, Aetna, and Cigna have been paying out all these years. Natalie Hodge MD
Personal Pediatrics Affiliate House call Pediatrician

Will Doctors be put out of Business by Google??

Here's a tidbit I found this morning off my AIS newsletter... Google's role in helping people diagnose their symptoms is compelling.




Take these, and Google your symptoms in the morning. An Australian study has found that Google correctly diagnosed uncommon medical conditions 58% of the time, after entering some symptoms from 26 cases into the search engine, reports London's Daily Express. According to the newspaper, researchers from the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia "Googled" three to five symptoms from each of the 26 cases selected from the New England Journal of Medicine. Then the researchers documented three diagnoses and selected the one that seemed most probable for the relevant symptoms, adds Daily Express. What the researchers found was that Google's diagnoses were correct in 15 of the 26 cases. The researchers concluded that, as Internet access becomes more readily available in outpatient clinics and hospital wards, the Web is rapidly becoming an important clinical tool for doctors. The use of Web-based searching may even help doctors diagnose difficult cases, according to Daily Express.



The Personal Pediatrics Affiliate House Call portal will consider how Google may play a role in pediatric diagnosis. Natalie Hodge MD Personal Pediatrics affiliate St. Louis

Doctors are Outsourcing their Jobs to Nurse Practitioners and PA's

Speaking of outsourcing... Everyone is talking about China and India and the evolution of many highly technical fields as accounting, legal, finance. The medical profession is always included in these discussions. Doctors are slowly replacing themselves with midlevel providers over which they oversee. The midlevels can bill 100% of a pediatrician's fees if they have an MD in the building signing off on the chart. Pediatricians in business are moving towards overseeing midlevels rather than providing care. The Personal Pediatrics House call system is an innovative practice system that puts a seasoned pediatrician back in the driver's seat of medical practice. Our affiliates practice utilizing a scalable system of IT infrastructure, security, systems, and support that minimizes upfront hardware/software costs of the traditional in-network pediatrics practice. Natalie Hodge MD Personal Pediatrics House call affiliate pediatrician

Hardware for the Pediatrician of the Future

Lenovo has announced a commitment to small business rather than exclusive contracts with big pharma and the like... Could the computer of the future for the Pediatrician of the Future be the new x60 tablet?? I'm eagerly awaiting the new device which promises to get the SCREEN right, which has been my beef with this series...Personal Pediatrics Affiliate House call Pediatricians need total freedom and mobility to care for children in their natural environments and we are excited to bring Lenovo into the realm of small business as we move forward. Natalie Hodge MD Personal Pediatrics House Call Affiliate Pediatrician St. Louis

Docs Slow to adapt EMR due to hardware/software costs

Here's a newsflash...

"Health care advocates have long encouraged physicians
to switch to computerized medical records, saying they
could improve patient care and increase efficiency.
Doctors, however, have been more concerned about the
high price tag - often more than $20,000 per physician
for software, hardware and Internet connections - as
well as having to maintain a computer network. Surveys
estimate less than 20 percent of doctors have fully
automated their offices.

"They're saying, 'I'm shelling out the money and
everybody else is getting the benefits,'" said Tom
Leary, director of federal affairs for industry group
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society."

As a former in network pediatrician running on the treadmill of Blue Cross Blue Shield, I can sympathize with doc's who say no to the EMR from the standpoint of upfront hardware costs. Consider another solution for your pediatrics practice... The Personal Pediatrics administrative support system which is an adaptation of our common EMR systems. The difference is that Personal Pediatrics shows you how to get off the Blue Cross Blue Shield treadmill of 40 pediatric patients a day, and create strong relationshiops with your clients, practice medicine in a nurturing, more grafifying environment. The Conventional EMR shows you how to see even more patients for even LESS and LESS money!! The Personal Pediatrics administrative support system flip flops your entire overhead structure of your office. It eliminates most of it through our web based portal. Rather than working three and a half days for overhead and one and a half for take home as most pediatrics offices do, you're working one half day for overhead and four and a half for revenue... Do you want the hospitals to own you at a higher level by purchasing your emr for you?
Personal Pediatrics, the Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today. Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis Personal Pediatrics Affiliate Pediatrician

American Doctors WAY behind in adopting technology

Look at this survey:



"What gives, North America? Only 28% of U.S. primary care physicians and 23% of PCPs in Canada use electronic medical records (EMRs), compared with 98% of physicians in the Netherlands, 92% in New Zealand, 89% in the United Kingdom and 79% of PCPs in Australia, finds a new survey by the Commonwealth Fund and Harris Interactive. According to the study, Canadian and U.S. doctors are also the least likely to have systems that provide decision support, such as computerized alerts about potentially harmful drug doses or interactions."

In America since we have no national health service and private insurers dominate reimbursement for the majority of doctors, physicians are reluctant to adopt the emr due to initial cost, this is the worsening picture for many practices. Hopefully the natural evolution of business and innovation will create new models of medicine for modern practice. The
Personal Pediatrics system of practice is a marriage of platform software technologies and retainer based medicine that takes the pressure of declining reimbursements for physicians off the table so that they may be able to AFFORD to buy the SYSTEM that enables future practice. Many pediatrics practices right now are struggling to get throught the next year on their billings with the collected amounts being such a fraction that this is their top concern! Natalie Hodge MD

Pediatricians Bottom of Barrell Salary for Doctors

Look at this:

Meanwhile, United said Nov. 8 that incoming CEO Stephen Hemsley had signed a four-year employment agreement and agreed to reprice his stock options through 2002, bringing the value of his options down by $190 million. In addition, CFO Patrick Erlandson resigned and will be replaced by G. Mike Mikan, United's senior vice Bof finance. Forrest Burke has been designated acting general counsel for the company. Robert Dapper, United's senior human resource leader, is retiring, the firm added.

United Health Care's CEO has REALLY sacrificed to bring his options down to 190 million. Lord, how will he live on such a scant amount of money? 40 % of pediatricians make less than 125 grand a year. We have played the pawn for the health insurance industry way too long. It's time for The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today.

Health Insurer CEO's top dollar pay

I was just talking to a retired surgeon about the state of healthcare. This is a guy who has been accepting insurance reimbursement for decades and was slowly put out of business by the pressures of in- network medicine. It strikes me as I read about CEO salaries in the Health Insurance industry, you will see these numbers like 8 million and 10 million in pay! Why would ANY physician in their right mind accept assignment for the insurance industry and enable shareholders to squeeze them to see so many patients that you put YOUR good name at risk?? This baffles me. The status quo in medicine right now places a real threat to your malpractice risk. If you don't have a RELATIONSHIP with your patients and they blow through your office disgruntled with unanswered questions what do you think is going to happen when there is a bad outcome?? There are multiples solutions coming for patients and doctors as our dysfunctional industry evolves. Take a look at the Personal Pediatrics administrative support solution for Pediatricians. We have negotiated preferential rates for our affiliate physicians in Missouri. Now this was not so hard to do. When I went to my med mal insurer and told him how I was practicing, making house calls, reducing my patient population, leaving my insurance network affiliations, contracting with patients directly through a yearly retainer, he was TICKLED PINK. Yes, Dr. Hodge here's a 20 percent discount for you, because he knows I am a lower risk! This will play out nationally as we bring on house call affiliates and negotiate preferential rates for our affiliates in other states. Take control of your life and your practice, slashing overhead and move into the future of pediatric medicine. Create a legacy for your family that you can be proud of, not to mention a practice that you can actually SELL at retirement because it will be PROFITABLE. Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis Personal Pediatrics House Call Affiliate

Fixing Healthcare and The Chicken and the Egg

I was reading a post from Seth Godin's blog today entitled The Chicken and the Egg.

There are countless innovations that would make our world a better place (and would make you a wealthy marketer). The problem with almost all of them is that getting from here to there is almost impossible. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but it does mean you should count on failing. Sure, every once in a while an eBay happens. But for every business that solves the chicken/egg problem, there are thousands that fail (insert dead chicken/broken egg joke here).

In almost every case I can think of, the problem isn't solved by fixing a big industry. It's just too hard to get all the big players to change at once. Instead, the problem is solved in a tiny industry (college admissions a hundred years ago) and then the industry grows around it. So, if you've got a breakthrough for the big guys, watch out.

This point is well taken in the Personal Pediatrics mission, you can't fix " Healthcare" Everyone is talking about "Fixing Healthcare" In reality we will have multiple small niche solutions that evolve out of the disfunction of the industry, and the Personal pediatrics administrative support solution is just one in a sea that will come over the next few years. Wouldn't it be great to have a personal relationship with your child's doctor, be able to call on his cell phone and have personalized house calls for your babies and children?? Natalie Hodge MD

Physician morale at all time low

I'm just reading an article in Modern Healthcare today that addresses the low morale of physicians in practice today. Six of ten physicians are considering leaving practice due to the long list of concerns that we read about daily in the newxpapers ad nauseum. Loss of autonomy and frustrating tangles of red tape paired with low reimbursements and long hours are the top of every pediatrician's list. One doc's quote reads" One thing that rarely gets mentioned is that unlike other industries that are cyclical, the practice of medicine gets continually gworse and worse...more intolerable, more onerous, with absolutely no hope or reason for any optimism in the near or remote future" This makes me so sad to read. We at Personal Pediatrics would never be so bold to say that we have a "fix' for " healthcare" but our targeted solution for pediatricians and their patients is loght at the end of a long dismal tunnel that many in practice will find refreshing. The Personal Pediatrics network of doctors utilize our tech platform that enables a return to a simpler form of pediatrics practice, the house call. Our retainer-based system providing administrative support for pediatricians eliminates the entire overhead structure of the busy pediatrics office and essentially shunts money away from health insurers and directly into the pockets of our doctors. Take a look at Personal Pediatrics and watch our story as it unfolds! Natalie Hodge MD

New Network of Pediatricians in St. Louis

The Saint Louis area will be pleased to have access to a network of forward thinking pediatricians who adopt the Personal Pediatrics administrative support system and provide a high level of service for babies and families from downtown extending out to west county! I found that as I started my house call service several years ago, I had to say no to families in the Chesterfield, St. Charles, Wildwood areas. As our network evolves will be able to service further west neighborhoods! Look for a Personal Pediatrics affiliate house call pediatrician coming to a neighborhood near you. Sign up for our Personal Pediatrics Top Ten Advantages of Breastfeeding e-series. and forward on to your expecting friends!!

New Network of Pediatricians in St. Louis

The Saint Louis area will be pleased to have access to a network of forward thinking pediatricians who adopt the Personal Pediatrics administrative support system and provide a high level of service for babies and families from downtown extending out to west county! I found that as I started my house call service several years ago, I had to say no to families in the Chesterfield, St. Charles, Wildwood areas. As our network evolves will be able to service further west neighborhoods! Look for a Personal Pediatrics affiliate house call pediatrician coming to a neighborhood near you. Sign up for our e-series. and forward on to your expecting friends!!

New Network of Pediatricians in St. Louis

The Saint Louis area will be pleased to have access to a network of forward thinking pediatricians who adopt the Personal Pediatrics administrative support system and provide a high level of service for babies and families from downtown extending out to west county! I found that as I started my house call service several years ago, I had to say no to families in the Chesterfield, St. Charles, Wildwood areas. As our network evolves will be able to service further west neighborhoods! Look for a Personal Pediatrics affiliate house call pediatrician coming to a neighborhood near you. Sign up for our e-series. and forward on to your expecting friends!!

New Network of Pediatricians in St. Louis

The Saint Louis area will be pleased to have access to a network of forward thinking pediatricians who adopt the Personal Pediatrics administrative support system and provide a high level of service for babies and families from downtown extending out to west county! I found that as I started my house call service several years ago, I had to say no to families in the Chesterfield, St. Charles, Wildwood areas. As our network evolves will be able to service further west neighborhoods! Look for a Personal Pediatrics affiliate house call pediatrician coming to a neighborhood near you. Sign up for our e-series. and forward on to your expecting friends!!

Pediatrics medical record portal in St. Louis

Wouldn't it be nice to have access to your child's medical record immediately in the comfort of your own home? Wouldn't it be nice to call your pediatrician and get a quick call back? Wouldn't it be nice for your baby to avoid all the infectious exposures of the typical busy pediatrician's office? Keep an eye out for the evolution of Pediatrics.Look for a Personal Pediatrics Affiliate Physician heading to a Saint Louis neighborhood near you! Some call it "Concierge Medicine" We just call it common sense.

Personal Pediatrics affiliate doctors make house calls, are available by phone, and make use of a paperless system that empowers them to have access to all your child's medical data at their fingertips. Not only this YOU will have access to your child's medical record such that you don't have to beg your doctor's office for a copy. So far it's Personal Pediatrics, Inc. and the Country of Denmark that have this level of patient portal available. A subsidiary of IBM built the portal for Denmark. Personal Pediatrics, Inc. Has built it for the healthcare of our children. Our government is flailing when it comes to providing innovative healthcare for Consumers. Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds. Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis Affiliate Personal Pediatrics Pediatrician.

Personal Pediatrics Invest in Your Child's Healthcare Rather Than Sick Care

The Personal Pediatrics administrative support system enables pediatricians to return to a simpler form of practice with a focus on relationships and prevention. These are two important aspects of care that our conventional health insurers have distanced physicians and consumers from. My AIS newsletter today carries the headline...

"Wellness Coupled With Consumer-Directed Care Yields Lower Costs, Healthier Members"

As much as 70% of all health care costs is related to personal health behaviors.

In conventional pediatrics remember that your doctor wants your child to be sick, because this is how he makes money. Imagine a pediatrician that makes house calls and enables your child to be healthier??

Watch for an affiliate house call pediatrician coming to your neighborhood soon. Natalie Hodge MD Personal Pediatrics affiliate pediatrician St. Louis

Medical Economics Salary Updates For Physicians

The 2005 data for physician salaries is now available from Medical Economics. There seems to be slight improvement for pediatrician salaries, by one percent. Of course this is quite outpaced by inflation, at 3 and a half percent. The pressure for pediatricians is on for further increasing "effiency" and this seems to be the method by which practices eeked out this gain. Squeeze a few more patients into your waiting room and spend 30 seconds less time with each one. The article references all the ways that these efficiencies can be had, for example hire another nurse to "run interference" while you're seeing patients. It seems that our culture has turned the practice of medicine into a football game. For more about the article check out www.memag.com. Pediatricians burned out by the futility of our current disease based insurance network "sick care" may want to pursue a cutting edge administrative support system provided by St. Louis based Personal Pediatrics. This drastically cuts your overhead and enables you the time for prevention, nutrition, and relationship building in your private practice. Why enable a hospital to control your professional destiny?? Why provide another winter of "sick care?" Let's raise a generation of nutrition minded healthy children through a system that rewards your preventive efforts and great bedside manner. Natalie Hodge MD Personal Pediatrics affiliate pediatrician, St. Louis

MSA accounts give more to Doctors and Less to Insurers

Try combining an MSA with a credit card to pay your out of network Personal Pediatrics House Call Pediatrician. We'll be researching the credit card options for you and posting about these over the coming weeks. Credit card companies would never miss an opportunity to create a new market would they? This enables you to pay your doctor directly out or pretax money rather than having to beg for the reimbursement through the old HSA. Natalie Hodge MD Personal Pediatrics Affiliate House Call Pediatrician St. Louis

Medical Savings Accounts and House Call Pediatricians

St. Louis House Call Pediatricians

Medical Savings Accounts Enable Retainer Based Medicine

Credit card companies are really jumping on the bandwagon of providing credit cards to link to the new Medical Savings Accounts. Families that prefer the personalized service of out of network physicians as the Personal Pediatrics House call system may utilize this to have their payments come out pretax. Those that prefer to wait an hour in a office to see a nurse for five minutes may continue in that system. Eventually consumers will wake up to the scam of full coverage insurance. The rapidly rising rates for insurers are unsustainable and the squeeze that insurance reimbursements place on doctors will force them to look for new practice options as the Personal Pediatrics administrative support system.
Look for a St. Louis House Call Pediatrician to be coming to a neighborhood near you soon!

Personal Pediatrics= House call Pediatricians

I was at an interesting meeting this morning of healthcare managers. As a pediatrician it is interesting to be in such a room. The discussion came around to "how to fix healthcare?" One advocated for a single Government payor system, realizing that as in England, there likely will coexist a 15% or so of population that prefer private pay or private insurance. ( Did anyone think that the Queen of England would wait in the queue?) A two tier system is evolving in America. The critics of the retainer based ( concierge medicine ) model say that it is "elitist." I'm curious how many of these critics happen to own stock in Blue Cross Blue Shield or Aetna or United Health Care? Doctors are in the position of the government (via controlling medicare/medicaid)deciding what their wages "should" be then reducing reimbursements until they get back to that point. (Apparently the target wage is 120 grand a year ( word on the street) Why would any healthy family in America pay Blue Cross Blue Shield 13 grand 5 hundred dollars a year for an hour wait to see a nurse?? Pay Blue Cross 4 grand in case you are hit by a bus and pay your Personal Pediatrics Affiliate House call pediatrician directly out of pretax Medical Savings Account dollars. House Calls for babies?? Some may call it elitist, but we just call it commmon sense. Private or National health house call systems are available in many countries, Japan, South Africa, France, England... Why should children wait in droves in the winter in a busy office when they can have a House Call Pediatrician at their doorstep?

Credit Card Companies enable consumer directed care

Personal Pediatrics

Personal Pediatrics House Call System is enabled by Consumer Directed Care. There is a growing wave of credit card companies who are jumping on the bandwagon of Consumer directed care. As families shift into high deductible plans and plunk a chunk of cash into the new MSA, there will be multiple credit card options such that all medical expenses come out of pretax dollars. This is so much easier than the old fsa, which you must take painstaking efforts to get reimbursement. Why pay Blue Cross 13 grand 5 hundred in 2007 for an hour wait to see a nurse for five minutes?? Pay your Personal Pediatrics Affiliate House Call doctor directly out of your MSA and have attentive personalized care. The only loser here is the health insurance industry. Did they think we wouldn't figure this one out?? Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds. Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis Missouri

Personal Pediatrics Provides Personalized Medical Care for Children

Personal Pediatrics= House call Pediatricians
Personal Pediatrics= House call Pediatricians

House Call Pediatricians will not sit around and wait for a bill to be passed to provide payment for adopting a system in which patients may access their medical records through the web!! Watch as our story unfolds. Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis Personal Pediatrics Affiliate Pediatrician

Although the growing trend toward systems interoperability will allow physicians to move a patient's data from their electronic health record into a patient's [personal health record] with the ease of a mouse click, private practices and clinics in particular should be able to receive compensation for their efforts in adopting healthcare information technology. Maximizing the value of PHRs, which can increase the quality of care, requires continuous physician input."

-- Blackford Middleton, M.D., chairman of the Center for Information Technology Leadership, commenting on a bill introduced late last month by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) that would offer financial incentives to physicians who establish interactive electronic personal health records. Middleton's comments were included in a statement issued Oct. 18 by InterComponentWare AG, an international e-health firm

Personal Pediatrics= House call Pediatricians

Personal Pediatrics= House call Pediatricians

Personal Pediatrics House Call System Enabled by Self Employed and Business Owners

Self Employment and Business Ownershipenables proliferation of the Personal Pediatrics House call administrative support system, because those that are self employed and business owners will be the first to open their eyes to the unsustainable nature of the current rate of rise of insurance premiums. These families are personally responsible for their healtcare costs such that they are sifting into the 4 grand a year high deductible plans. I like to call these "Hit by the bus plans." This enables a family to put four or five grand into a Medical Savings account and then link it to a credit card which is used to then pay their doctors directly, all out of pretax dollars. Most of the families in my house call practice have made this switch and are finding that they have me at their house for an hour with their child with an attentive visit that is personalized for NOT MUCH MORE than they were paying before with full coverage insurance. Full coverage insurance in 2007 provides an hour wait to see a nurse for five minutes. Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds. Natalie Hodge MD, St. Louis PersonalPediatrics Affiliate House Call Pediatrician

Blue Cross Blue Shield Named in Class Action Suit in California

Blue Cross of California is being sued by hospitals in the state over its rescission policies. The law firm of Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, Inc. said it filed a class-action complaint on behalf of the California's hospitals in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Oct. 13. The firm said the suit seeks to expand protection of hospitals statewide from California Blue Cross' practice of "retroactively rescinding insurance policy coverage for numerous patients after the health care services have been provided by the hospitals." The class-action complaint follows California Department of Managed Health Care's $200,000 fine against the WellPoint, Inc. affiliate for improperly rescinding coverage of one patient. The suit asserts that the rescissions directly impact the hospitals, because they are not being paid for their services, and instead are being directed by the health plan to collect from the patients. WellPoint spokesperson Shannon Troughton declined to comment on the lawsuit, explaining that "we have still not been served with a copy of the complaint, and haven't been able to review it." She added that "our payment practices are in compliance with applicable California law." In a related development, Blue Cross of California is in settlement discussions with certain former members whose individual policies had been rescinded. Troughton said the insurer is in confidential mediation with former members regarding their canceled policies. According to the Los Angeles Times, the insurer agreed to settle more than 70 lawsuits and claims by members whose coverage had been rescinded.


I found this in my AIS newsletter today. I find it interesting how health insurers are increasingly named in suits like this one. Essentially these insurers are saying, lets charge these increasingly skyrocketing premiums and oh, oops, you people who are sick in the hospital are costing us WAY too much money, so we're just NOT GOING TO PAY those claims. Sorry. Why do Americans continue to pay these exorbitant amounts of money to insurers? It is MIND BOGGLING to me! Do they think that their rate of rise of premiums is sustainable?? Do they think tat the American parents will continue to pay so much money for an in network doctor to be in charge of their child's health?? The declining reimbursement has pressured providers to hire nurses to do all the patient care for them anyway, in an environment of antiquated systems and non existent customer service. Why not hire a Personal Pediatrics affiliate Pediatrician to care for your child carefully, thoughtfully and in a way that's convenient for your family and lifestyle, at home. Why not utilize a company for your healthcare that provides password protected access to your child's medical record?? Why should your doctor have such control of your child's medical record such that you have to beg for access with long waits and multiple phone calls?? Take a look at www.personal pediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds. A new wave of healthcare is coming, right to your house. For more about our affiliate pediatricians in your neighborhood, visit the website! Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis Personal Pediatrics Affiliate Pediatrician.

Global Healthcare Stands at a Crossroads

Global healthcare stands at a crossroad. Rising costs, aging populations, and an antiquated healthcare system have put pressure on governments, businesses and society to make significant changes in the delivery of care.

Which direction will the industry take?

Acure, an IBM subsidiary, helped create the Danish National e-Health Portal, which provides a central, highly secure Internet site where citizens can manage all of their healthcare needs. And every hospital makes its electronic patient records available through the system, allowing physicians to instantly determine a patient’s health history and records, regardless of which provider they’ve previously visited.

I found this on a blogpost taken from IBM's intranet. I suppose in Americaour capitalistic nature dictates that since there is an 8 billion dollar market for e software/hardware solutions, every one wants a piece of that pie. I suppose this is better for our marketplace to create secure patient portals, because we sure as hell can't sit around and wait for our government to provide that for us. The Personal Pediatrics Administrative support system is a timely solution for families who want communication with their doctor, home visits, electronic accessto their child's medical records, and a commitment to personalized preventive medicine. The relationship between the pediatrician and patient in this system is "Pure" because there is no insurance company to deny preventive claims and skew care towards handling only acute illnesses as in our current system. Watch for our growing network of affiliate pediaticians who embrace the future and raise a generation of nutrition and prevention saavy children and families. Some people have called this "Concierge Medicine" We just call it common sense. Natalie Hodge Personal Pediatrics Affiliate Pediatrician St. Louis
s that since there is an estimatede 8 billion dollar market for software systems as the above,

American Children Desperately Need Prevention

I find myself reeling from an exciting weekend I had at a nutritional conference in Memphis this weekend. As an aside it is for a supplement product named Juice Plus which is the essence of multiple fruits and vegetables packed into a capsule. Before you roll your eyes physicians who may be reading this (you know who you are),consider this... Children in our country are desperately overfed and undernourished. This obesity problem has reached catastrophic proportions in the USA. Our pharmaceutical industry nourishes a culture of treating disease with pills for which they are hansomely paid. I spent ten years in conventional pediatrics practice unable to code for obesity prevention in a visit. Insurers are happily providing "sick care" and pediatricians are happy to fill their offices of sick kids for brief visits secretly hoping that they will get sick again so that they can get another 24 dollars and 15 cents from insurance. Is anyone paying attention to the pipelines in vaccine development for major pharmaceuticals?? I am. Within five years it is likely that we will have drastic reductions in our volume of sick visits in pediatrics, due to vaccine development. Conventional pediatricians will continue to curse and complain as their revenues continue to plummett. By this time a new pediatrics practice model will be thriving and rapidly altering the landscape of preventive pediatrics in America. We are the pediatricians who make house calls, answer cell phones, utilize cutting edge software and hardware to provide paperless recordkeeping and spend time with your family educating them about the importance of nutrition through our Personal Pediatrics Nutrition Program. Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds! Dr. Hodge Personal Pediatrics Affiliate Pediatrician St. Louis

Kaiser Family Foundation Poll finds many Americans Dissatisfied with Healthcare

I ran across this today. A poll by Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Americans are universally dissatisfied with their quality of healthcare. A second finding by the study finds Americans are worried about rising healthcare costs. These two issues have become common catchphrases for the those commenting on the healthcare industry. Well if we are SO dissatisfied with the care that Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, and United Health Care are providing via doctors accepting their in network services, ( wait an hour to see a nurse for five minutes) then why are we continuing to pay our health insurers increasing premiums for care?? Any one who pays BCBS 13 and a half grand in 2007 for a healthy family of four must be out of their gourd. If you want a quality doctor that you can spend time with, why not spend more money on your doctor directly?? Combine this with catastrophic insurance and actually save money. Remember that health insurers like to call these plans "rate savers" to imply that one must be cheap or stupid to need to utilize such an "inferior" insurance product. Consider a new breed of pediatrician that makes house calls, communicates by email and is available for families. Watch www.personalpediatrics.com and sign up for our newsletter to see how you can get a personal pediatrics affiliate pediatrician practicing in your neighborhood today. Some people call this concierge medicine. We like to call it common sense. Natalie Hodge MD

Disney Pledges commitment to Childhood Obesity Problem

Yesterday Disney pledged its commitment to its support to minimizing its association with unhealthy foods for children. I am happy to see this evolve and have a major corporation which is contributing to the poisoning of our children step up to the plate and self regulate. The Pediatrician of the Future is less worried with illness in children and will be focusing of continuity of care for patients and communication with families. We will be focusing on the PREVENTION of OBESITY in America. For the first time in the history of MAN we have a life expectancy that is decreasing for children, due to our rampant pervasive problem of pediatric obesity. Parents need to remember that this industry will deceive you when it comes to marketing " healthy" food for your child. Read labels and avoid high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils. In general shop around the store and avoid ANY food that has a cartoon character on the box. For that matter, avoid foods that come in a box. Remeber that your insurance company is interested in covering "sick care" rather than health care. Consider a high deductible plan paired with an MSA and pay a Personal Pediatrics Affiliate Pediatrician in your neighborhood directly to keep your child healthy, rather than infect your kid with more viruses while sitting waiting in his office, so that he can make more money by having his nurse see you and tell you that your kid is "Sick". For more info on disney's commitment take a look at this link http://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/index.html

For more information about finding a Personal Pediatrics affiliate pediatrician in your neighborhood take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com. Watch our story as it unfolds!! Warm regards, Dr. Hodge

'We've got to adopt health information technology, and get on with it'
The price tag remains the single most significant barrier to electronic medical record system adoption by physicians today, two leaders of prominent physician organizations said Tuesday. William F. Jessee, MD, president and CEO of the Medical Group Management Association, and Douglas Henley, MD, executive vice president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, were part of a panel speaking to AHIMA members at their annual meeting in Denver.
October 11, 2006
Healthcare IT News

This is a difficult issue for physicians. It is easier to adopt the costly new technology if the technology actually enables the provider to create better service and communication for their patients, ( whom I now like to call " clients" or even better "Customers") EMR adoption will be quick when doc's are shown how to make improved incomes and provide service that is unprecedented in healthcare today. In healthcare generally doctors talk about " patients" like the commoditized " number" they have become. Health Insurers have " Customers' and "clients. " Doctors have "Patients." Doctors do not consider " patients" to be "Clients." Why not adopt an electronic medical record system that actually revolutionizes the way in which you deliver care. Why not utilize a service that DRASTICALLY reduces your practice overhead. Eliminate the poor performers in your office staff and allow the computer system to handle your data rather than your outdated, grumpy staff. Remember what happened to tellers when the banking industry revolutionized itself?? Families will always need the expertise of a pediatrician. They more and more will demand improved communication and pay you directly rather than Blue Cross Blue Shield. BCBS provides an hour wait to see a nurse for five minutes in 2006. Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds!! Warm Regards, Dr. Hodge

Blue Cross Blue Shield Wants to make Health Insurance Mandatory

BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota suggested that Minnesotans should be required by law to have health insurance..... Visit http://www.aishealth.com/GNOW/101606.html#gnowten for more information

This makes me chuckle. A health insurance company wants to make buying health Insurance Mandatory!! Maybe life insurers should make life insurance mandatory TOO! How dare any family in this country not pay 13,500 dollars yearly to Blue Cross Blue Shield so that they can turn around and pay 30 cents on the dollar back to insurers?? How dare any family not make Blue Cross in network physicians (who are contracting out all their visits to nurses to remain profitable )be in charge of their children's care?Here's some news for insurers... The expertise of the Personal Pediatrics afiliate physicians is valuable and sought after by families who have not been fooled by the scam of health insurance in america. Why no pay your Personal Pediatrics affiliate Pediatrician directly for personalized service, house calls, email access and continuity of care?? Why not combine this care with a high deductible plan and save money?? Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it evolves! Natalie Hodge MD

Blue Cross Wants to Make Health Insurance Mandatory!!

BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota suggested that Minnesotans should be required by law to have health insurance..... Visit http://www.aishealth.com/GNOW/101606.html#gnowten for more information I ran across this yesterday. Now this makes me chuckle. What if life insurers wanted to make life insurance mandatory?? Of course an industry who is beginning to lose serious market share because of it's failings in the product it's providing to its consumers wants to make it MANDATORY!? ( Meaning in primary care it provides access to an over run pediatric office staffed by busy nurses, difficulty making an appointment, and finally an hour wait to see a nurse or agisgruntled doctor for five minutes) Health Insurers raised their rates another 13 percent this year. Why wouldn't consumers save their money and spend 4 grand on a high deductible plan and pay their pediatricians directly through an administrative support system as MDVIP (for adults)or Personal Pediatrics for KIDS?www.personalpediatrics.com Insurers are not inroufallible and consumers will make the choice to have personalized care through Personal Pediatrics affiliate pediatricians as our services become more readoly available. Natalie Hodge MD "PersonalPediatrics...The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today. "

Blue Cross Wants to Make Health Insurance Mandatory!!

BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota suggested that Minnesotans should be required by law to have health insurance..... Visit http://www.aishealth.com/GNOW/101606.html#gnowten for more information I ran across this yesterday. Now this makes me chuckle. What if life insurers wanted to make life insurance mandatory?? Of course an industry who is beginning to lose serious market share because of it's failings in the product it's providing to its consumers wants to make it MANDATORY!? ( Meaning in primary care it provides access to an over run pediatric office staffed by busy nurses, difficulty making an appointment, and finally an hour wait to see a nurse or agisgruntled doctor for five minutes) Health Insurers raised their rates another 13 percent this year. Why wouldn't consumers save their money and spend 4 grand on a high deductible plan and pay their pediatricians directly through an administrative support system as MDVIP (for adults)or Personal Pediatrics for KIDS?www.personalpediatrics.com Insurers are not inroufallible and consumers will make the choice to have personalized care through Personal Pediatrics affiliate pediatricians as our services become more readoly available. Natalie Hodge MD "PersonalPediatrics...The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today. "

ow Silicon Valley Will Reboot Your Doctor

Andy Kessler is a finance guy who’s worked on Wall Street and ran a hedge fund. And like a rich-man’s Michael Lewis, he’s written a couple of books about Wall Street and the money world, and, following down the path that Maggie Mahar’s taken, he’s moving onto health care (presumably before he finds something more interesting like baseball! His book is called The End of Medicine: How Silicon Valley (and Naked Mice) Will Reboot Your Doctor. I'm reading this and not finished yet, but it's essentially another techie's read on how software and hardware can and will revolutionize medicine. Usually these books discuss how the EMR will make doctor's "more efficient" meaning how they can enable them to see EVEN MORE patients for EVEN LESS moneyin an in network insurance scenario!! Consider a proliferating model of pediatric care in which a package of hardware and software enables the pediatrician to make house calls and develop unprecedented relationships with families and children, focusing (really) on preventive care. Pediatricians must leave the insurers system which for the past ten years has DENIED CLAIMS for treating and preventing obesity. The health of our children depends on it!! Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds!! Natalie Hodge MD "The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today"

Personal Pediatrics= House call Pediatricians

Are physicians and hospitals on track to meet President Bush's goal of making electronic health records (EHRs) available to most Americans by 2014? No, say authors of a new study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and HHS's Office of the National Coordinator for HIT. "24% of physicians are now using some sort of EHR technology," said Ashish Jha, M.D., study co-author and assistant professor at Harvard School of Public Health, at an Oct. 11 news conference. "However, when examining the adoption rate of EHRs with features that truly make a difference such as CPOE [computerized physician order entry] and clinical decision support tools, that number drops to 10%." Only 5% to 10% of hospitals have EHRs that incorporate these tools, he added. Providers in a solo or partner practice are less likely than ones in large-group settings to adopt the technology, according to the report. That's a problem, said David Blumenthal, M.D., report co-author and director of the Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners HealthCare System, since half of all physicians in the U.S. practice in a solo or partner setting. So what needs to happen to "speed up" adoption of EHRs? Besides addressing the financial restraints and disruption of care concerns when implementing a system, more patient involvement and education is needed, said Myrl Weinberg, president of the National Health Council. "Without patient engagement and demand for this technology, EHRs will not succeed," she said. The report, "Health Information Technology in the United States: The Information Base for Progress," appeared in the Oct. 11 Web edition of Health Affairs and is also available at the foundation's Web site.

This is an interesting study done by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. There is interest among the heathcare IT industry to know what things are going to SPEED UP the adoption of EHR's? Read- So we can make craploads of money off our investment in these software companies producing the EMR technology. I'll tell you why the sales cycle for selling stuff to doctors is so terrifically long ( 18 months) Physicians are so caught up in the treadmill of patients since their insurance contracts have so extensively devalued their time and services delivered. Consumers are lost in this shuffle, paying Blue Cross Blue Shield 13.5 grand a year for an hour wait in a busy office to see the nurse for five minutes. Are they going to pay BCBS 15 grand in 2008? I don't think so. There is essentially no incentive for an in network physician to fork out the dough in the short term for the EMR because it's expensive. It's a means to become even MORE "efficient" see more patients, receive less and EVEN LESS dough for each patient farmed through the office. Why not enable pediatricians to provide a service for their families that is SO extraordinary that is makes all the competition in healthcare IRRELEVANT!? Personal Pediatrics is an administrative support system enabling pediatricians to return to a simpler form of practice, the house call. Our system is proliferating since consumer directed plans which link to an MSA make our out of insurance network fees tax deductible. What mother wouldn't want personalized in home care for her new baby, minimizing the exposure to viral infections of the office? What pediatrician wouldn't want to utilize this patented system of hardware and software to free oneself from the office and it's outdated systems and overhead?? Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds!!

Personal Pediatrics Leads the House Call Revolution

It is interesting to me that physicians have allowed insurers to lead the way in storing the "medical record " for the American public. United healthcare group has announced they will "give physicians access" to this data. Why would any pediatrician not have control of the content of each of their patients electronic medical record, as well as give families content rich web based education about their child's health? Why would any pediatrician not enable their patients families to have password protected access to their child's medical record?? What pediatrician would not want the cost savings that this function creates in practice overhead?? ( read: about 100 grand a year in staffing?? Why are pediatricians continuing to pay 250,000 yearly ( this is average) in overhead that is a result of outdated systems?? ( practicing in the same paper environment as MD's 50 years ago??) There is an interesing title to a healthcare blog that I like to follow by Roberto Ruggeri at Microsoft http://blogs.msdn.com/rruggeri/ His subtitle I believe must be directed to healthcare professionals, " Healthcare IT Happens, Whether You Like It or Not" Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds!! Natalie Hodge MD Saint Louis, Personal Pediatrics affiliate pediatrician

Doctors Slow to Communicate by Email

"OK, so it's well known, that the adoption of e-prescribing and EMR technology by physicians has been slow, but now a new study finds that most physicians don't even utilize inexpensive, widely used IT tools in clinical practice. The study — to be published in next month's Journal of General Internal Medicine — finds that 3.4% of 1,662 U.S. physicians report e-mailing their patients, 39% access online professional journals and 40.8% say they use clinical-decision support, including government and professional society Web sites and searchable databases. The study finds that a practice's size plays a much larger role than a physician's age. Although recent medical school graduates tend to use IT more than do more experienced doctors, the study reports that solo/two-person practices were less likely to use IT regardless of physician age. For more on the study, click here. " I pulled this off an AIS newsletter today. The fact that only three percent of doc's are emailing illustrates that insurers are still running the show when it comes to healthcare. If insurers paid for it, by God, doctors would be doing it. Period. This show how far removed "Traditional Medicine" is from the normal competitive pressures of business. Can you imagine your banker or accountant or investment advisor not having a website or enhanced electronic communicaton? As we move to the consumer directed care model with high deductible plans combined with MSA's families will have the choice of pediatricians for their children. A. Full Coverage Insurance- Wait for an hour to see a nurse for five minutes. B. High Deductible Plan with MSA funding Personal Pediatrics affiliate pediatrician's retainer fees- Enhanced doctor patient communication and attentive house calls for your child. Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds. Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis

Personal Pediatrics= House call Pediatricians

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) has signed into law a pair of bills that will permit health plans to offer wellness coverage that could include premium rebates or reductions, or reduced copayments or deductibles.... Visit http://www.aishealth.com/GNOW/100906.html#gnoweight for more information. Now this makes me laugh. In the year 2006 lawmakers have decided that its important PERMIT health plans to OFFER wellness coverage. As a practicing pediatrician in St. Louis this really is funny. We have spent the last ten years in a system that penalizes pediatricians for preventive care. Not only could we not code for "obesity" as a diagnosis and get paid for it, we would be commiting a felony offense for coding" hyperglycemia" or "hypertension" instead as this is insurance fraud. All the while business cropped up, an entire industry to assist in losing weight, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers. Pediatricians dropped the ball on preventing pediatric obesity 10 years ago. If we weren't so deeply dependent on insurers for our livelihood we never would have let that happen. For a more "pure" relationship with your pediatrician, consider contracting directly with one of our Personal Pediatrics affiliates in your neighborhood and receive the latest in cutting edge technology, therapeutics and communications from your doctor, without the concern that treatment is withheld due to "Poor Insurance Reimbursement." Would you wait around for the goverment to "Permit" your health plan to"Offer" wellness? You kid will be ten and obese for life by then!! Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story as it unfolds! Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis

Sandeep Shah and Skyscape Enables Personal Pediatrics

You might ask how the pediatrician of the future is going to access data and stay up to date on patient info, labs and cutting edge diagnostic tools? Well we are enabled by many new wireless solutions crafted by companies like Skyscape. Why should any parents child's medical record be tied to an office that's remote, difficult( sometimes near impossible) to access, and not nearly secure as new paperless systems that companies as Microsoft and Skyscape enable?? Why should any child have to leave the house when he is ill with a fever?? Why should any busy mother have to waste her entire day trying to secure an appointment by outdated and time consuming means?? Why should the siblings of the ill child have their schedules interrupted and be subjected to the multiple infections rampant in the outdated and overrun pediatrics office?? Why should you allow anyone but a well qualified, experienced, board certified, committed top level pediatrician care for your children?? Why do consumers stand to have nurses call you back at night when you're worried about your child's fever/injury/emergencies?? I'll tell you why, because Blue Cross Blue Shield's full coverage plan ( notably 12% rise from last year, 13,500/yr) will pay for this level of service! In 2007 in pediatrics full coverage gets you an hour wait with outdated systems and a brief visit with a nurse practicioner. For more on the Personal Pediatrics system of administrative support and how it fits into our emerging consumer directed care model, take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com. Watch as our story unfolds. Personal Pediatrics... The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today. Natalie Hodge MD Saint Louis Missouri

Microsoft Technology enables Personal Pediatrics Administratie Support System

Bill Crounse MD, Healthcare Industry Director For Microsoft, writes a nice blog http://blogs.msdn.com/healthblog/ that showcases the usefulness of Microsoft technology in Healthcare. The Personal Pediatrics administrative support system is an example of his predictions for the future, which incidentally are the same as ours at PP, are very much an extention of Bill Gates book, Business at the Speed of Thought. Our proprietary house call system software and hardware package utilizes the lates in wireless digital communications to bring " The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today" right to your living room for your child's pediatrics care. Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and watch our story unfold. Natalie Hodge MD CEO Personal Pediatrics, Saint Louis Missouri

Bill Crounse at Microsoft predicts the Personal Pediatrics Trend

I've just been reading Bill Crounse's Blog at Microsoft, Head of Healthcare Innovation. He makes some interesting predictions which are in line with the proliferation of the Personal Pediatrics admiistrative support system. First that we are looking at the end of health care insurance as we know it, or as "we used to know it." He says that this shift will enable a new generation of healthcare providers to compete for consumer directed care options. Second that wireless systems will completely revolutionize healthcare delivery. This alludes to the PP administrative support system, the pediatrician of the future with a treo and a laptop. Why should anyone's sick child sit in a waiting room full of sick kids when our Personal Pediatrics affiliate physicians bring care right to your doorstep?? Mine don't. Of course, their mother is the pediatrician of the future, right?? We commit to utilizing resources at Microsoft to continually update our systems and bring our families greater service. Take a look at www.personalpediatrics .com and watch as our story unfolds!! Natalie Hodge MD Pediatrician of the Future... St. Louis

House Call Nation

Families in my house call practice always ask me "Why are you the first person to start making pediatric house calls" as an exclusive practice? Who knows? I think pediatricians are so steeped in the dysfunction of their offices that it is hard to look outside of that. Many pediatrics offices in St. Louis have found that nurse practitioners are quite profitable and employ them to see their patients for them. Nurse call lines at night take many of the phone calls for emergencies for offices as well. Parents notice that they can rarely speak to their doctor of choice. A new generation of pediatricians is cropping up using the Personal Pediatrics administrative support system. This frees a pediatrician from the office and enables a return to a simpler relationship with patients, providing house calls. Our patented system of hardware and software drops the bottom out of wasteful office staffing costs. Families pay for services that insurers are unwilling to cover as email access and direct cell phone access. Watch the Personal Pediatrics Story as it unfolds across the Nation. www.personalpediatrics.com

Personal Pediatrics Patient Portal

I am reading about Aetna's providing patients access to " Medical Records" and health information. I'm sure that they are not referring to " THE Medical Record" that is physically sitting around on paper in many doctors offices across the country. Why is it that insurers are so far ahead in providing insurance customers services when compared to medical providers as primary care practicioners? I'll tell you why, they have normal competitive business pressure, i.e. they have to answer to customers and what customers want in order to flourish and peddle their insurance plans across the country. Pediatricians and other primary care care providers that remain in insurance networks are ultimately answering to INSURERS when it comes to what services that they will provide to their patients. If an insurer won't pay for a new vaccine, patients don't get the vaccine. If insurers won't pay for e-mail communication, they don't get to communicate with their doctors by email. If the insurer pays marginal fees for visits, the doctor sure as #$%^ won't be making house calls or spending any more time than ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY on each visit. Incentives are given to physicians who are "efficient" READ ones that farm children in and out of their offices like CATTLE. When pediatricians contract with patients directly as the Personal Pediatrics administrative support enables, a pure form of medicine emerges. A physician will provide X services for Y dollars, which fuels cutting edge emerging therapeutics and evidence based medicine as well as convenience for chidlrenand excellent doctor-patient ( family) communication. This administrative support system enables emergence of " The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today" in the national marketplace. Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and look for a Personal Pediatrics affiliate pediatician to be making house calls in a neighborhood near you. Natalie Hodge MD, Saint Louis

Healthcare Professionals Fight Back

It seems there are many ways that physicians are fighting back against insurers that undervalue our services by continuing to cut reimbursement. I just read that in Atlanta doctors are resorting to class action lawsuits against insurers for misrepresentation and JUST NOT PAYING CLAIMS, bottom line. Pediatricians wrestle with this issues as well. This is a new adaptation I was not familiar with. So in private practice you can do one of four things. 1. See more and more patients spend less time with each 2. Hire a nurse to see all your patients for you, this is a favorite amongst pediatricians in St. Louis. 3. Sue insurers in a class action lawsuit as doc's in Atlanta are doing and pray that you win and get some money out of it to make up for all those lost billings. 4. You can do all of the above or any combination of the above with lots of whining and complaining for the rest of your life. OOps I forgot, what about patients, what about people, what about the children that you are caring for, festering in your waiting rooms for hours??? Here's the best option for pediatricians, stop adapting to the whims of the insurers and do the best for patients, contract with them directly for services or utilize Personal Pediatrics administrative support solution to convert your practice over to a low cost paperless house call system which provides incredible service for clients, drastically reduces your financial reliance on insurers, and enables you to connect with families in a way that is not COMPROMISED by your contracts with insurers. Take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com and see what our pediatricians are doing about childhood obesity. Remember that insurers have limited your ability to care and prevent pediatric obesity in the way you wish was possible. Natalie Hodge MD St. Louis "The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today."

Personal Pediatrics= House call Pediatricians

Personal Pediatrics= House call Pediatricians Here's the thing: I'm noting today an article about a COMMON occurrence among insurers. A woman in Southern California found herself dropped from her health insurance coverage when it was disovered she had an expensive chronic illness. Healthy people are the ones that enable health insurance carriers to charge 13,000 grand a year and STILL manage to pay their investors out 30 cents on the dollar. This happens in the pediatics field commonly. I find families that don't want to have their child to have a diagnosis of asthma due to inability to get coverage by insurers. Here's a tip!!! Why would anyone in their right mind pay BCBS 13 grand a year when you can get catastrophic coverage for 4 grand and pay your doctors dirctly out of a Medical Savings Account that links to a credit card??? Better yet, get the credit card that links to your new MSA that you can gain airline miles with and take your family to the south of france for a vacation instead of subsidizing those BCBS investors with YOUR money. Isn't it time that consumers had a choice of pediatricians for their babies and children that answer cell phone calls, make house calls, provide unprecedented service and medical expertise in a model that is tax friendly?? ( READ TAX DEDUCTIBLE) Consider the Personal Pediatrics administrative system. Remember your full coverage insurance pays for an hour wait to see a nurse in 2006. Wouldn't you like to see your child's doctor have an allegience to YOU and YOUR family instead of bowing to the whim of insurers?? Are you tired of your child's doctor saying" Your insurance company won't pay for that shot or reimburse for that visit?" Get ready for " The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today" www.personalpediatrics.com

Personal Pediatrics Provides All in One Concierge Model technology solution

As consumers discover the benefits of combining a high deductible plan and Medical Savings account with a high tech traveling Personal Pediatrics affiliate Physician's services, the full coverage insurance plan will die a speedy death. Why should any family in America spend 12,000$ a year for a healthy family of four to sit hours in a doctors waiting room for a brief visit with a nurse practitioner?? As our system expands and consumers become aware of the alternative convenience and excellent communication that our doctors provide, sitting in a busy pediatric office with a multitude of ill and contagious children will be a thing of the past. Our affiliate physicians utilize a patented system of paperless medical recordkeeping and cutting edge software that enables travel AND cutting edge medicine. Dr. Natalie Hodge in St. Louis is Practicing Personal Pediatrics Care in St. Louis and is the prototype for the Pediatrician of the Future. Pregnant mom's will deliver and have attentive in hospital care followed up by at home visits so appreciated in the delicate bonding phase of the first month of a baby's life. This enables breastfeeding to become well established and is especially convenient for a mom with other toddlers at home. "Personal Pediatrics...The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today"

High End Hospitals Committed to Concierge Medical Care

Inevitably Health Care is Shifting to the Consumer Directed model as insurance rates rise. I was quoted 1350$ monthly for a family of four for coverage for 2007. That's around 15,000 dollars yearly. Why not combine Blue Cross Blue Shield's High deductible plan for four grand and pay your doctors directly to retain a high level of service and attentiveness?? The rise of the concierge model for care on the West Coast has led to a continued trend in adult medicine. Pediatricians will be looking at the model next. Consider a turkey administrative support solution by Personal Pediatrics Based in St Louis Missouri. This growing network of pediatricians makes house calls, answers email and spends unprecedented time with families. The arguments against the concierge model say that it is elitist. Notably several of our national private brand name hospitals as Mayo Clinic and John's Hopkins are aggressively marketing the concierge medicine model for their clinics, flying in oil sheiks from the middle east and recruiting patients from Europe for expensive second opinions. The bottom line is that due to our reimbursement climate both hospitals and private practitioners must actively evolve. This is survival of the fittest and only through innovation and service will a healthcare system come out on top. ( Notice I did not say by continuing to stay in their futile insurance networks that furthur devalue the healthcare services rendered) Consider Personal Pediatrics administrative support system, enabling "The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today"

High End Hospitals Committed to Concierge Medical Care

Inevitably Health Care is Shifting to the Consumer Directed model as insurance rates rise. I was quoted 1350$ monthly for a family of four for coverage for 2007. That's around 15,000 dollars yearly. Why not combine Blue Cross Blue Shield's High deductible plan for four grand and pay your doctors directly to retain a high level of service and attentiveness?? The rise of the concierge model for care on the West Coast has led to a continued trend in adult medicine. Pediatricians will be looking at the model next. Consider a turkey administrative support solution by Personal Pediatrics Based in St Louis Missouri. This growing network of pediatricians makes house calls, answers email and spends unprecedented time with families. The arguments against the concierge model say that it is elitist. Notably several of our national private brand name hospitals as Mayo Clinic and John's Hopkins are aggressively marketing the concierge medicine model for their clinics, flying in oil sheiks from the middle east and recruiting patients from Europe for expensive second opinions. The bottom line is that due to our reimbursement climate both hospitals and private practitioners must actively evolve. This is survival of the fittest and only through innovation and service will a healthcare system come out on top. ( Notice I did not say by continuing to stay in their futile insurance networks that furthur devalue the healthcare services rendered) Consider Personal Pediatrics administrative support system, enabling "The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today"

Electronic Medical Records in Pediatrics

Our federal government has the goal of an interoperable electronic medical record nationally by 2014. Why should it take so long?? I wonder. Most emr companies focus on the " efficiency" factor that the medical record will bring to practice. Perhaps this is helpful for patients on some level, but what it also does is further commoditize medicine and further introduce midlevel providers to provide patient care. The bottom line is healthcare in America is that as long as physicians accept insurance contracts and the associated devaluation of their skills, physicians are answering to insurance compaies rather than patients. For pediatricians consider use of an EMR and patented practice system that enables one to provide an incredible level of service and communication for patients. Our practice system is already in use by a pediatrician in St. Louis, Natalie Hodge MD author of "The Personal Pediatrics Guide for the Progresssive Parent." The Personal Pediatrics administrative support system incorperates the latest in pediatric seamless electronic medical record keeping with high tech remote communications and transportation. For more information take a peek at www.personalpediatrics.com. "Personal Pediatrics... The Pediatrician of the Past and Future...Today. "

Pediatrician in St Louis - Convenient House Calls

The Front Page of the New York Times today is entitled, Health Care Costs Rising Twice as much as inflation. How long will the American public stand for the poor continuity and service and outdated systems that in network physician system provides?? Essentially we are paying Blue Cross Blue Shield 12 grand a year, each family of four in America to provide care by doctors who are unavailable and busy and generally have nurses see their patients for brief visits anyway to maximize revenue. Consider switching to a high deductible plan and avoid our commoditized health care system that focuses on " efficiency" ( read farm them in and out like cattle ) Combine this with the personalized service of a Personal Pediatrics house call Pediatrician in your neighborhood and utilize the new MSA account. This will make your retainer fees tax deductible and can be easily linked to a credit card for easy payment. Dr. Hodge in St. Louis is the first pediatrician in the nation to provide Personal Pediatrics care in the St. Louis Region. For more info take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com. "The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today. "

Pediatrician in St Louis - Convenient House Calls

The Front Page of the New York Times today is entitled, Health Care Costs Rising Twice as much as inflation. How long will the American public stand for the poor continuity and service and outdated systems that in network physician system provides?? Essentially we are paying Blue Cross Blue Shield 12 grand a year, each family of four in America to provide care by doctors who are unavailable and busy and generally have nurses see their patients for brief visits anyway to maximize revenue. Consider switching to a high deductible plan and avoid our commoditized health care system that focuses on " efficiency" ( read farm them in and out like cattle ) Combine this with the personalized service of a Personal Pediatrics house call Pediatrician in your neighborhood and utilize the new MSA account. This will make your retainer fees tax deductible and can be easily linked to a credit card for easy payment. Dr. Hodge in St. Louis is the first pediatrician in the nation to provide Personal Pediatrics care in the St. Louis Region. For more info take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com. "The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today. "

Pediatrician in St Louis - Convenient House Calls

The Front Page of the New York Times today is entitled, Health Care Costs Rising Twice as much as inflation. How long will the American public stand for the poor continuity and service and outdated systems that in network physician system provides?? Essentially we are paying Blue Cross Blue Shield 12 grand a year, each family of four in America to provide care by doctors who are unavailable and busy and generally have nurses see their patients for brief visits anyway to maximize revenue. Consider switching to a high deductible plan and avoid our commoditized health care system that focuses on " efficiency" ( read farm them in and out like cattle ) Combine this with the personalized service of a Personal Pediatrics house call Pediatrician in your neighborhood and utilize the new MSA account. This will make your retainer fees tax deductible and can be easily linked to a credit card for easy payment. Dr. Hodge in St. Louis is the first pediatrician in the nation to provide Personal Pediatrics care in the St. Louis Region. For more info take a look at www.personalpediatrics.com. "The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today. "

The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... today.

The critics of retainer based medicine do not seem to appreciate the gravity of the crisis of primary care in America. Sucessful business will evolve out of the dysfunctional medical system. This was essentially Bill Gates premise when he wrote Business at the Speed of Thought. Paperless systems will enable the medical profession to create incredible services for consumers. The problem is that our medical system's dependency on insurers cause the focus of paperless systems for physicians to be on those of " efficiency." The translation of " efficiency" for primary care physicians is to farm patients in and out of the office as quickly as possible, like CATTLE. The commoditization of healthcare is partly what is leading to the demise of Primary care as we know it. Midlevel providers will become the new caregivers for the in network system. Physicians will either oversee a nurse staffed system or will utilize retainer based systems to see patients. Personal Pediatrics is a turn-key administrative support solution for pediatricians to maintain a retainer based or concierge model of pediatrics that is low cost and provides customized solutions for today's busy family. For more about the Personal Pediatrics solution and to become "The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today" take a peek at www.personal pediatrics.com.

Rise of Consumer Directed Health Plans Enable Retainer Based Pediatricians in St. Louis

It is interesting to see that Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Health Care both are noting the popularity of their Consumer Directed Health Plans. These insurers are seeing their enrollment in these plans double in the year 2006. Employers often will save so much on the premium that they will then set up an HSA or MSA and put a certain amount of funding so that medical deductibles and expenses can come out of pre tax dollars. Essentially we will see that consumers will no longer stand for the old medical system in which full coverage insurance pays for an hour wait to see a mid level provider. The retainer based or concierge medicine model will continue to proliferate and expand to new markets. Families will be able to choose pediatric care from a Personal Pediatrics affiliate physician and pay these retainer fees directly out of a credit card attached to their MSA or HSA. These consumers will have the advantage of a personal relationship with their pediatrician, email access to MD, direct cell phone access to MD, as well as the comfort of home visits for their children. The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today.

Rise of Consumer Directed Health Plans Enable Retainer Based Pediatricians in St. Louis

It is interesting to see that Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Health Care both are noting the popularity of their Consumer Directed Health Plans. These insurers are seeing their enrollment in these plans double in the year 2006. Employers often will save so much on the premium that they will then set up an HSA or MSA and put a certain amount of funding so that medical deductibles and expenses can come out of pre tax dollars. Essentially we will see that consumers will no longer stand for the old medical system in which full coverage insurance pays for an hour wait to see a mid level provider. The retainer based or concierge medicine model will continue to proliferate and expand to new markets. Families will be able to choose pediatric care from a Personal Pediatrics affiliate physician and pay these retainer fees directly out of a credit card attached to their MSA or HSA. These consumers will have the advantage of a personal relationship with their pediatrician, email access to MD, direct cell phone access to MD, as well as the comfort of home visits for their children. The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today.

Personal Pediatrics house call system and The Government Accountablity office

The GAO, Goverment Accountability office is in the process of identifying important goals for addressing privacy issues and defining criteria for electronic medical record certification criteria. Essentially there is interest of our federal government to incentivise practitioners of primary care to adopt an EMR. The Personal Pediatrics House call system personifies the ultimate in paperless systems and seamless wireless communications. Now our doc's do this not to provide " efficiency" from the standpoint of patient care ( read: farm children in and out of the office like cattle), but rather to provide the ultimate house call experience for babies and children as well as an ultimate healthcare experience for parents that adopt the sytem for their kids. Practitioners of the PP system get the benefit of drastically reduced overhead that lessens the "volume" game that those in primary care are playing. These docs set the pace for the "Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today. " Natalie Hodge MD

Personal Pediatrics house call system and The Government Accountablity office

The GAO, Goverment Accountability office is in the process of identifying important goals for addressing privacy issues and defining criteria for electronic medical record certification criteria. Essentially there is interest of our federal government to incentivise practitioners of primary care to adopt an EMR. The Personal Pediatrics House call system personifies the ultimate in paperless systems and seamless wireless communications. Now our doc's do this not to provide " efficiency" from the standpoint of patient care ( read: farm children in and out of the office like cattle), but rather to provide the ultimate house call experience for babies and children as well as an ultimate healthcare experience for parents that adopt the sytem for their kids. Practitioners of the PP system get the benefit of drastically reduced overhead that lessens the "volume" game that those in primary care are playing. These docs set the pace for the "Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today. " Natalie Hodge MD

Personal Pediatrics house call system and The Government Accountablity office

The GAO, Goverment Accountability office is in the process of identifying important goals for addressing privacy issues and defining criteria for electronic medical record certification criteria. Essentially there is interest of our federal government to incentivise practitioners of primary care to adopt an EMR. The Personal Pediatrics House call system personifies the ultimate in paperless systems and seamless wireless communications. Now our doc's do this not to provide " efficiency" from the standpoint of patient care ( read: farm children in and out of the office like cattle), but rather to provide the ultimate house call experience for babies and children as well as an ultimate healthcare experience for parents that adopt the sytem for their kids. Practitioners of the PP system get the benefit of drastically reduced overhead that lessens the "volume" game that those in primary care are playing. These docs set the pace for the "Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today. " Natalie Hodge MD

Employers in the Dark on Consumer Directed Care

I read an interesting article today. "Health Plans not doing enough to educate employers on " Consumer Directed Care" Insurance agents and brokers say the employers would likely choose these alternative plans if insurers would provide more tools for comparison. This makes me chuckle. Large insurers( we won't name names, but you all know who they are) have most companies and/or families in the US paying for the typical full coverage plan ( generally 10 to 12 grand a year). Remember that this is the plan that covers for in network doctors. These are the offices that struggle due to tightened reimbursement where you will find an hour wait to see a mid level provider as a nurse practicioner. Now when you have this kind of revenue across the board, why would insurance companies " provide tools for employers" to start paying them 4 grand a year for a family of four for the high deductible plan? That's right they would be out of their minds to promote high deductible plans because they will loose mounds of cash and put it into the pockets of out of network physicians and concierge medicine practices and Personal Pediatrics affiliates. These families will prefer to have personalized service outside of the conventional full coverage system and pay an out of network Personal Pediatrics affiliate house call doctor a fair yearly retainer fee and out of network office visits. The cool secret to this is that a family can have personalized medicine in one of its many forms for the same price as the full coverage plan if they adopt a high deductible plan. As the rates of the full coverage plan increase at 10 to 15 percent yearly, employers will hemmorhage out of these plans into the more economical high deductible plan, and place 4 or5 grand in an employees MSA, which they can use for a personalized internist or a Personal Pediatrics affiliate physician. The full coverage plan is dying and so is the outdated pediatric office system. Families will not stand for this poor service and long waits and poor communication with their pediatrician. Families that prefer to communicate with modern tools like email and direct cell phone access will shift their insurance plans accordingly. Personal Pediatrics the Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today.

Employers in the Dark on Consumer Directed Care

I read an interesting article today. "Health Plans not doing enough to educate employers on " Consumer Directed Care" Insurance agents and brokers say the employers would likely choose these alternative plans if insurers would provide more tools for comparison. This makes me chuckle. Large insurers( we won't name names, but you all know who they are) have most companies and/or families in the US paying for the typical full coverage plan ( generally 10 to 12 grand a year). Remember that this is the plan that covers for in network doctors. These are the offices that struggle due to tightened reimbursement where you will find an hour wait to see a mid level provider as a nurse practicioner. Now when you have this kind of revenue across the board, why would insurance companies " provide tools for employers" to start paying them 4 grand a year for a family of four for the high deductible plan? That's right they would be out of their minds to promote high deductible plans because they will loose mounds of cash and put it into the pockets of out of network physicians and concierge medicine practices and Personal Pediatrics affiliates. These families will prefer to have personalized service outside of the conventional full coverage system and pay an out of network Personal Pediatrics affiliate house call doctor a fair yearly retainer fee and out of network office visits. The cool secret to this is that a family can have personalized medicine in one of its many forms for the same price as the full coverage plan if they adopt a high deductible plan. As the rates of the full coverage plan increase at 10 to 15 percent yearly, employers will hemmorhage out of these plans into the more economical high deductible plan, and place 4 or5 grand in an employees MSA, which they can use for a personalized internist or a Personal Pediatrics affiliate physician. The full coverage plan is dying and so is the outdated pediatric office system. Families will not stand for this poor service and long waits and poor communication with their pediatrician. Families that prefer to communicate with modern tools like email and direct cell phone access will shift their insurance plans accordingly. Personal Pediatrics the Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today.

Pediatric Healthcare ready for Disruptive Innovation

Healthcare has been known as the last industry to adapt to technology. We see that the infrastructure has been set up for pediatricians to provide better service and streamline their operations, but St. Louis Based Pediatrician Natalie Hodge has built an innovative house call service from the ground up. " I wanted to see what staff I really needed, and that is how I built Personal Pediatrics." A boutique or retainer-based health care model, Personal Pediatrics sells administrative support to pediatricians ready to jump off the treadmill of private practice and really provide a different level of care to their patients, in their home. The concierge medicine model is firmly established for adult medicine. The way that this translates to Pediatrics is by a return to the house call supported by a software/hardware package that enables it to happen. Families reap the rewards of having a personal relationship with their pediatrician and avoiding the infectious contacts in a typical busy office. MD's decrease their dependence on insurance billings by providing cutting-edge services not reimbursible by insurance. The only loser here is perhaps the insurers, who notice a pattern of families combining concierge medicine with high deductible plans, shunting more pay to physicians and less into the pockets of insurer stockholders. Personal Pediatrics The Pediatrician of the Past and Future... Today.