Jay Parkinson, Internet MD

Nikki sent me this link about Jay Parkinson, MD. He is a doctor that practices in New York. The difference being his office is his laptop, cellphone, and your home. His schedule is integrated on his website via Google Calendar. That way his patients can see an open slot, text him with their desired appointment time, and he will see them...even if it’s the next hour. His entire practice, including the electronic medical record, Life Record EMR, runs on his iPhone. It seems he restricts his practice to Brooklyn due to the feasibility of housecalls out of that district. And get this, he is planning to get a scooter as his mode of transportation for house calls!

For a fee of $500 per year, he will make an initial visit to you in your home and he offers two additional visits as needed. Parkinson plans to charge $150 to $200 for extra house calls after the first two per year. But he is available to you any time between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays for unlimited consultation on IM or e-mail.

In a nutshell, he opened his practice to target the uninsured working people. His clientel is mostly freelancing creative professionals. He said, "One thing that makes me so angry about the healthcare system is a concerted, widespread policy of keeping their prices hidden from the public until you receive your bill a month later for services already rendered." For imaging tests or specialists needs, Parkinson refers his patients to a network of low-cost providers. He does his homework by calling up doctors and facilities to find out how much they charge. His results are amazing. In researching the cost of mammograms he found prices from $125 to $750.

I love his concept. Mainly because I get so angry (see my sidebar "The Cast") with insurance companies. And it is true about the prices. Consumers are totally in the dark. He is turning on the light...finally.

A couple of other interesting links I found in reading about Parkinson. One is OutOfPocket.com. On their site they state, " Our vision is to take the secrecy out of health care pricing." Another link is to Parkinson's flickr photos. Seems he is a photographer. Perfect. And, of course, he has a blog. (All the cool kids are doing it.)

Sources: Wired Gothamist