Factory medicine: Being a doctor ain't like being a doctor use'ta be.

[3Hotdogs]

Last edited Sun Mar 29, 2026, 11:32 AM - Edit history (1)

I remember Dr. Dante. He came to your house when you got sick,. He had his black bag and I'd hide under the bed because I didn't need no damn needle. Around '80, he semi-retired to become an anesthesiologist. He retired a few years later.

Then came the walk-in clinics. Not the end of the world. Just not the same. They are still there, but they are being bought out by large medical conglomerates. Our family practice was bought out by a northern N.J. "group." The head practitioner was promised as much time with patients as needed, and whatever. One year into the switch, he began getting write-ups from headquarters that he is spending too much time with patients,

Earlier this month, he announced his retirement, effective Dec. 31st.

My nephrologist. I was with him for over 20 years. He signed up with a different N.J. conglomerate. "This is the physician's Nirvana." He couldn't be happier. August '24, his entire unit was closed and he is no longer with the conglomerate. You need nephrology? Drive 14 miles further. I suspect he retired.

My step-daughter - nurse practitioner. She worked 14 years at a walk-in clinic. Her first month there, she diagnosed a child with a rare, almost fatal disease. She told the mother to take the kid immediately to the E.R. The mother returned the next day, "The ER said you saved her life."

Fortunately, the hire was with profit-share. 18 years later they were bought out by the above-mentioned northern N.J. group. Fortunately, she got over $1m with the takeover. But her job was reduced to intake. No one-on-one with patients. No opportunity to diagnose. She left.

She then worked as a practitioner-manager for a practice that was contracted with a state agency. It seems they lost the contract so she is out of a job.. But not to worry, Right now, she is in Dublin for a 2 week vacation. I suspect she may retire and the medical industry lost a great practitioner.

So much for the new factory medical care.

Welcome, to the machine.

[Midnight Writer]

1. When I was a little kid (1950s) I lived for a spell with my grandmother.

There was an older man in her neighborhood who did the local "doctoring". The story I got (I have no idea if it is true) was that he was a Jewish doctor who fled Poland before WW2 and somehow settled in this poor neighborhood in rural America. He was not licensed but he was reliable and cheap. All his "doctoring" were house calls. I don't remember much about him except for his heavy accent. I could not understand what he was saying but Grandma seemed to.

I don't think many folks around here had health insurance at that time. I reckon this old fellow filled a need by serving the poor.