One of the problems with an item in short supply is the certainty that it's price will rise. That seems to be a deliberately created problem with medical specialists.
The various faculties of medical specialising control the number who train - and they therefore ensure that there is no over supply. As a result, seeing a specialist requires a referral from a General Practitioner - a long wait - and a large out of pocket expense because of the " gap " between the common fee and what the specialist chooses to charge.
One anomaly that exists is the inability of General Practitioner's to refer patients directly to have a Magnetic Resonance Image ( MRI ) scan. Referral for such a scan is restricted to specialists.
MRI is a relatively new - and very effective - means of detecting various medical conditions. There are now moves to drop the requirement for it to be ordered by specialist groups in favour of giving access to General Practitioners.
There will be several benefits. GP's will have the chance to eliminate various disorders as the cause of Patient's symptoms - and therefore save that patient a long wait and a large specialist's fee to reach the same result.
Having had the benefit of MRI to identify the problem the GP will then either refer the patient directly to the local hospital, or correctly identify the source of specialist treatment for the newly identified ailment.
The benefits will be reduced cost to the patient - and more importantly - less delay in having the disorder treated. Hopefully, this new procedure will be in place by early next year !
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