Bob Dylan was probably not thinking about the state of primary healthcare delivery in 2019 when he said back in 1964 that the times, they are a changin’.
But Dylan’s famous protest song of the mid-60’s could well be the theme song about the modern delivery of healthcare in the U.S. today.
Take, for example, the often-heard prophecy that the old-fashioned family doctor is going the way of the dinosaur or the do-do bird.As  Exhibit A, here’s a recent newspaper story from the Oak Ridge paper, entitled “Is the traditional family doctor becoming obsolete?”
And, just yesterday, there was a story in Modern Healthcare about a new health plan to be offered by Humana that will involve primary health care being provided virtually through a collaboration between Humana and a telehealth company, Doctor on Demand.
More and more primary care healthcare providers–physicians and nurse practitioners–are turning to new practice and payment models to deliver services to their patients, such as concierge or direct pay primary care. In particular, in practices that focus on functional or integrative medicine, the times, they are a changin’.
For lawyers like me who seek to help solo or small group practice health professionals in their business operations, staying agile, flexible and open to innovation is essential.
Stay tuned as more and more changes come to healthcare delivery in the U.S. Things will never be like they once were, but for those who embrace the revolution in healthcare delivery, opportunities will always be there, whether it is telemedicine, functional medicine, concierge medicine, or some other new model for healthcare delivery or payment.