Forum: Clinics should compete on quality of care
I refer to the report,
- by autobot
- Aug. 20, 2024
- Source article
Publisher object (23)
I refer to the report, , on Aug 16. A proper telemedicine consultation should hold the same standard as a regular clinic consultation. It starts with confirmation of the patient’s identity, followed by history-taking, discussion on possible diagnosis and explanation of treatment plan. I estimate a minimum of 10 minutes is required for a proper consultation. Currently, there is no fee benchmark for general practice (GP) clinic consultation. The sad part is some clinics race to the bottom by offering unbelievably low consultation fees, so as to attract patients and expand the size of their market share. According to the website of that particular telemedicine operator, its online consultation charges start from $8.20 per session. If each consultation is to be done properly, which takes a minimum of 10 minutes, revenue for one hour of non-stop teleconsultations would only yield $49.20. At such rates, the telemedicine operator would not be able to cover the cost of running a telemedicine practice, which would include salaries of the doctor and information technology support staff, internet connection and IT equipment. This may indirectly make teleconsultation practitioners recover cost by seeing more patients per hour, which is not ideal for proper medical care. Consultation at polyclinics costs $32 before subsidy. The Ministry of Health should consider setting minimum consultation fees for GP clinics at that amount. Setting a fee benchmark helps maintain standard of care at GP clinics. Medical clinics should compete on quality of medical care, not how low the charges are.