Why so Long?

Why so long to get an appointment?
It's all about the reimbursement, of course. Craig, our office manager and appointment scheduler, has been cursed, yelled, at, and Dr. Elovitz threatened with malpractice suits when patients and families learn there will be a long delay for a Medicare-reimbursed appointment. We have had a six to nine month wait in the past, but we’re doing much better now. Yes, we know people are terrified of dementia, need to financially plan, are still driving, etc. but what can we do? Dr. Elovitz has had post-doctoral trainees and employees in the past, but they can't afford to stay and live on the Cape, even if we give them everything Medicare pays us. And, that ain't a sustainable business model!

There were two of us doing this work full-time on the Cape, Dr. Bruce Eggleston does many cases personally, but also supervises our staff psychometrists. So we do the best we can. Costs in Boston are just too prohibitive. If you go to a major Boston hospital you'll often be seen by a student in a giant hospital-based system, the appointment wait can be a year and we're finding report turnaround can be months.

But, you also should know that the problem with Medicare is that it does not have enough money because is relies on fees from workers and their companies, that politicians are reluctant to raise–for obvious reasons. Don't think it is the inefficiency of government causing this problem. It is not. More about Medicare's Benefits here.

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