Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS
Many consider medical care in the United States as the best in the world. Potentates from multiple and disparate countries come here for treatment. On the other hand, efforts to create a “healthcare system” have been a failure. While necessary for major medical expenses, the health insurance industry has drained the life out of the patient-physician relationship and the pocketbooks of patients. Despite the promises of the ACA, many patients do not have access to good medical care and a stable relationship with their doctor.
Five for-profit insurers now control 43 percent of the market, more than 60 percent of community hospitals belong to a health system, and less than half of physicians own part of a private practice. Many of these former private practitioners became corporate employees and another cog in the hamster wheel of 7-minute patient visits.
Some physicians have taken another route. More and more are leaving their insurance-based private practice and taking the leap into a cash-based practice. One such model is called Direct Primary Care (DPC). The key word is “care.” With DPC physician’s office is dedicated to patients, not health insurers – where patients are a bean counter’s data points. Under the DPC model, physicians can maintain a small, independent practice with less time on paper (computer) work and more time with their patients. In addition to time and individual attention, patients can rest assured that their private medical information stays within the walls of the doctor’s office.
We can stop the corporate-government takeover of medicine. We can seek out private practices where you are treated as an individual human being, not an income generator.
My guest today will discuss her Direct Primary Care practice. And we will delve into the particular relevance of a strong, private patient-physician relationship as Covid lockdowns, masking, and economic issues take their toll on our mental health.
Dr. Kimberly Corba earned her medical degree from The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her Rotating Internship at Allentown Osteopathic Medical Center in 1994. After completing a year of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency at Temple University Hospital, Dr. Corba decided to pursue Family Practice and completed her Residency in 1997 at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. After practicing in the Lehigh Valley for 15 years, Dr. Corba opened the first Direct Primary Care office in the Lehigh Valley in 2016. She still finds time to mentor medical students and volunteer in many community activities for school, youth sports, and church.
Join us on weekdays at 5 pm ET and the encore at 10 pm ET on America Out Loud Talk Radio. Listen on iHeart Radio, our world-class media player, or our free apps on Apple, Android, or Alexa. Discover all the episodes on podcast networks, i.e., Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Tunein, Stitcher, and iHeart. You’ll find them the day after they air on talk radio, available on podcast. Extraordinary voices for extraordinary times.
America Out Loud is the premier news network with a diverse array of talk shows that inform and inspire. A daily resource for smart people.
