Kansas City-area doctor

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the practice has offices in Overland Park and Blue and it’s looking to expand more in soutgh Kansas City and the Northland. Weiner wants the practicew — which focuses on specialty services such as infertilituand high-risk pregnancies — to be ready to continue addinb new patients when they start seeking electiv e procedures as the recession ends. “I’m more interestedd in positioning our practice for when the economy does Weiner said.
“And I think the more locations I the more convenient I am for the patienr as they are ready to returjn to the system forlifestyle issues, we’ll be “And if it’s not a lifestyle issue, they’lol be looking for us anyway.” Anothedr way to cement relationshipsz with patients during the recession is to work with them on the In the AAFP survey, 89 percent of the respondentsz agreed that more patientds had expressed concern about paying for care during the To help, Epperly’s practice has institutee a sliding scale for even writing off the totao bill for some patients.
Other steps practices can take to help patientswith costs, he said, include allowing installment paymentws and prescribing lower-cost medications when possible. A practicer is also a of course, and the need to maintain customers can go onlyso far. For Weiner said that althoughKU Women’s Health Specialists treats significant numbers of indigent patients, the practice also takes a tough approach on collecting payments. For one, he said, the practicd is diligent about having patientsw sign paperwork acknowledging their responsibility to pay if theitr insurancecompany won’t cover the He said the practice also has startecd charging no-shows if they repeatedly skip appointments.
“Wed have taken a number of actions to try and improve Weiner said. “Sometimes it makews us a littleless friendly, but we have to do it.” At leastg in Wyandotte County, doctors williny to provide free care have an ally in Lee of Southwesyt Boulevard Family Health Care Services. She’s workinv on establishing a system where the med students who volunteer at her clinic can provide the lab services she has been offerinbto physicians. But the problem of uninsuredr patientsis pervasive, Lee said, as illustrater by a man who came to the clinic He used to have a job that paid $50,000o a year with health insurance benefits.
“Andd now,” she said, “he doesn’t have insurance. “He actually is havin a problem, and in the past, you know, he didn’ t worry about it. He’d go see a doctor, they’r set him up with a and everything would be takencare of. “Ande he’s actually quite frustrated because, he said: ‘Yoi know, I’d love to be at work, I’d love to, but I can’ty find a job. I can’t get Now what?’” EDITOR’S NOTE: The Kansas City Business Journap is redirecting the Growth Strategies sectiomn to help companies and entrepreneurs navigate thetempestuoux economy.
Survival Strategies will explore how businessesd approachthe downturn, from simply holding steady to capitalizin on weakened competition to positioning themselves for bette days ahead.