Hello Health: Dr. Parkinson Launches in Williamsburg

The MSBA's first speaker was Dr. Jay Parkinson back in April. His patience has paid off as he is finally launching the "storefront" of Hello Health in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The hip "Racked" blog published a recent post about the new Brooklyn doctor's office - or "hub" as Parkinson would prefer. We would like to congratulate the launch and wish Dr. Parkinson and his associates good luck.

Did the Industry FINALLY Wake Up??

Short term gains, quarterly stock price increases, quick fixes: for years these have been the key reasons for the American health care system downfall. Insurance companies try to please their stockholders, they have consistently achieved this by fighting tooth and nail to pay hospitals and doctors for services rendered. This lowers the quality of our medical care and turns doctors into assembly lines. Our system is essentially a "sick-care" system that offers zero incentive to be a so-called "good doctor." The insurance companies themselves are nurturing their own demise. By avoiding the costs of controlling chronic disease and prevention now, down the road when those diseases manifest themselves it will surely cost exponentially more. Have the insurance companies finally seen the fate they have created for themselves?
Someone with any business knowledge may have finally consulted with the companies and reminded them about investing for FUTURE gain. New plans springing up from Phili to North Carolina have been testing the concept of PAYING PRIMARY CARE DOCTORS MORE, and focusing on prevention and chronic disease management in order to save on more expensive treatment and consults down the road. The New York Times describes these insurance company-backed experiments in their article HERE. To me it seems like some foresight and common sense is finally seeping into these greedy insurance conglomerates. Maybe our "Sick care" can become "health care." If we manage our sickest patients efficiently, focus on prevention, pay primary doctors fairly for what they should be doing (promoting wellness and providing support to their patients) than we ALL benefit.