Friday Night Lights

I wonder if we are beginning to see a trend at Fountainhead Family Med – that Fridays are the “stuff hits the fan” day.  I posted earlier in January about my first house call on a Friday morning, and the next Friday at 8:00 pm I received a call from a Dad that his toddler had a chin laceration.  I met them at the clinic 45 minutes later and took care of her.  It turned out not to be complicated, but had they gone to an emergency department (which would have been their only other option at that time of night) they would likely have faced a substantial wait, and definitely would have been hit with a huge bill.  In fact, the ER charge they avoided will cover most if not all of the family’s membership fee with my clinic for the year.  

Let’s face it folks: the traditional way we have been paying for primary health care in the U.S. relies on smoke and mirrors.  The direct primary care model is flat out better.  

This episode illustrates another important point: at Fountainhead Family Med we have our patient’s back.