The VA is the best and only example of nationalized healthcare in the USA and the patients are literally dying on 2-year waiting lists as the care is rationed and the efficiency, patients served to doctors hours worked, is at about 1/8 the level of the private care system.
Krauthammer Proposes Voucher System to Cure VA Woes
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“This is a purely government-run service,” Krauthammer said. “Doctors are on salary.
They have zero incentive to see a lot of patients.
In the Albuquerque report that you saw in the Daily Beast, they reported the average cardiologist treats alone in one week what the entire eight-person department of cardiology in the Albuquerque facility treated.
So that's eight-to-one and that's because if you are in private practice, if you want to stay alive, you have to see a lot of patients so you can cover your overhead.
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Exclusive: VA Scandal Hits New Hospital - The Daily Beast
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There are eight physicians in the cardiology department. But at any given time, only three are working in the clinic, where they see fewer than two patients per day, so on average there are only 36 veterans seen per week. That means the entire eight-person department sees as many patients in a week as a single private practice cardiologist sees in two days, according to the doctor.
For perspective, 60% of cardiologists reported seeing between 50 and 124 patients per week, according to a 2013 survey of medical professionals’ compensation conducted by Medscape. On the low end, the average single private practice cardiologist who participated in the study saw more patients in a week than the Albuquerque VA’s entire eight-person cardiology department.
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