Why you should chose private practice clinics over corporate hospitals
A few Sundays ago I found myself sitting on my couch, with cold beer in my hand watching the game like I do every Sunday during football season. As the clock winds down the home team calls a timeout and the broadcast goes to commercial break. Normally during the break I’ll mute the TV as I rarely show interest in what is being advertised. However for one reason or another I let the commercials play as I waited patiently for the game to return. If I remember correctly I watched maybe a half a dozen commercials advertising everything from food, to cars, to home owners insurance. Now while the products were all different the theme of the commercials were all very much the same; Bigger Is Better.
Is this really where we are in 2020? When did the quality of a good or service start being judged based on cost and size instead of integrity and craftsmanship? Why is social status more important than what is best for you? Sure, who wouldn’t want to sit down in one of Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants and order a filet and glass a wine at almost $100 a head or go cruising down the highway in a Maserati GranTurismo, base price $164,000?
But lets be honest for a minute, that $100 steak will never be as good as that $15 dollar meatloaf your grandma makes on Sundays. That Maserati will never last as long as that Studebaker Champion everyone used to pile into on the way to church. If you look around you can see these concepts everywhere but it has never been more prevalent than it is right now in the medical world.
For years we have seen increasing trends of large corporate hospitals and medical facilities coming into an area and poaching patients from private practice offices. You hear words like state of the art or out of the box to describe these huge facilities. They sell you on the notion that because they are bigger and have more bells and whistles they provide better care. I am here to tell you THEY’RE WRONG! Below you will find at list of a few of the many reasons why you should be looking at a private practice first before stepping foot into a corporate run facility.
Better Care vs Better Bottom Line.
In a private practice the physician or therapist has the independence to make the necessary decisions that are in the best interest of the patient. In these facilities you work directly with the specialist to determine what is ailing you along with what the best course of treatment is for that ailment.
Often in larger corporate run facilities, a third party is introduced to the equation. These facilities usually have a board made up of executives with little to no clinical training whose jobs are to do what is in the best interest of the hospital not the patient. These board members have a surprising amount of influence on medical decisions from which tests are allowed to be run to what procedures are are allowed to be utilized to fix a particular issue. This leads to a facility that is more concerned with their bottom line than the care of the patient.
Private Practices Keep Expenses Down.
Treatment in hospitals will always be more expensive for a number of reasons, including facilities fees and service charges. When you visit a facility that is run through the hospital, facilities fees are assessed to your bill before a test is even run or treatment has even begun. These fees go directly to the hospital to cover maintenance, rent as well as other administrative related items. These types of fees are passed on directly to the patient and are very rarely covered by your insurance.
Convenience and TLC.
Corporate run hospitals are run more like businesses than hospitals. Wait times times alone can be excessive. If you are needing to see a specialist it could take weeks up to months to schedule an initial consultation. Then once you are seen you become a patient number. Large facilities see thousands of patients, it is next to impossible for your doctor or specialist to remember anything about you without looking at your chart, making the experience more like a transaction then personal care.
One of the benefits of being seen by a smaller private practice is more often than not you can be see within a day or two. Specialists tend to be more personally invested in your care because there is a sense of feeling like they know you. Even the offices themselves have a quieter more personal feel to them which provides patients a sense of comfort in an already stressful situation.
Why Wait?
Ferrell-Whited is one of the few private practice physical therapy clinics in Northeast Ohio. We pride ourselves on the overall patient experience. When you stop in to see us you will not only receive the best possible care but at a price that you can afford. With locations in Kent, Rootstown, Medina, Montrose, and Berea, we can serve all of your physical therapy needs. Do not wait, stop into one of our offices today to discuss your road to recovery.