Primary-care decline threatens healthcare, physician-blogger writes

A reimbursement model that rewards specialists for procedures much more than primary care physicians for preventive care is endangering healthcare in America, just when universal coverage efforts and aging baby boomers threaten to overwhelm the waning number of providers, physician-blogger Kevin Pho (left) writes in an opinion piece in USA Today.

"Primary care physicians who refuse to compromise quality are either driven out of business or to cash-only concierge practices, further contributing to primary care's decline," writes Nashua internist Pho, better known as the author of the blog Kevin, M.D.

He proposes paying physicians better for the time they spend with patients managing their diseases and forgiving the loans of medical students who choose primary care.