Bryan R. Fine, MD, MPH’s Post

Saw a patient recently who ran out of a blood thinner, can't get in to see primary care (let alone a specialist), and who injured a shoulder ~ 6 months ago that is still bothering with the only visit to a clinician so far was day-of injury where he was told, "It'll get better." By the way: The blood thinner issue was an oh-yeah-want-to-ask-you-about-that-also sorta situation, 'cuz the shoulder is what is bothering the patient the most. Ok, ready: What is the solution? Go... BF

Here we go: If you're in HR and you're only building programs that a) manage healthcare financing (ie: insurance) and b) promote 'soft' benefits like wellness and gym memberships, you're probably...creating a significant gap for your employees. I know you're working hard. I know you're playing the hand you feel has been dealt the best way you can. But... People can't find timely primary care. People can't find affordable Urgent Care. People can't find timely specialist care. And, lots of people can't afford to take off work for timely primary care, affordable Urgent Care, or timely specialist care...if they can find it. And, and...lots of people have disagreeable experiences if they can afford to take off work for timely primary care, affordable Urgent Care, or timely specialist care...if they find it. Bring your people a real healthcare solution. Bring them access. Bring them affordability. Bring them a little light in a troubled time, when they're not feeling well or they need some quick guidance and / or clarification. Find something. My $0.02. BFineMD #letpatientstext #workplacehealth ***** #doctorjobs #healthcare #healthtech #entrepreneur #saas #sms #humanresources #healthbenefits #text Follow me (and click 🔔) and you will smile more. Promise.

Tomorrow, I'm visiting Gates Milling, Inc. for a full-day workplace prevention and wellness clinic. Bringing along an interpreter, for the ~25% of employees who speak Spanish - a particularly vulnerable population. Oh: And their employees can also text me. Always. Don't need to wait until I'm onsite. But the onsite presence helps a lot in building rapport, ensuring higher quality and driving better outcomes. Employees know the doctor they're texting. It ain't random. BFineMD #letpatientstext #workplacehealth ***** #doctorjobs #healthcare #healthtech #entrepreneur #saas #sms #humanresources #healthbenefits #spanish Follow me (and click 🔔) and you will smile more. Promise.

When I started my medical practice, I was naive and thought I could build something largely outside the 'system.' Five years in, I'm still naive, still think I can build something largely outside the 'system.' The toll this has had - still has - on my life notwithstanding, most of the time I'm...pretty psyched about the whole thing. Most of the time ;)

Dear Patient, You're welcome. My pleasure. I got you. BFineMD #letpatientstext #workplacehealth ***** #doctorjobs #healthcare #healthtech #entrepreneur #saas #sms #humanresources #healthbenefits #text Follow me (and click 🔔) and you will smile more. Promise.

Well: I guess I've 'invented' a new way to practice medicine, where in-person and 'telehealth' are just...constituents parts of a singular whole, with the singular whole being hyper-focused on solving as many basic healthcare needs as possible, using common sense, collaboration, and a basic assumption that most patients are good, reliable, smart people who sometimes need helping solving simple things. To me, there'll all just tools to try and accomplish something: Better healthcare. A text, a phone call...are like a stethoscope, a otoscope. Part of diagnostics, part of service. In the current traditional model, we've sorta bastardized the journey with nonsense. This approach, then, has required me to also 'invent' a way to deliver this service to patients and get paid for the care I provide, because my mission is to be effectively zero-barrier access for patients across the socioeconomic spectrum (thus, I use SMS texting, worksite visits, and no-cost episodic engagement). No prior auth need ;) Not sure if you're aware, but there is no CPT billing code for a 'visit' that spans five days, includes check-ins, follow-ups and pivots, and let's patients ask quick-questions that exist in that space between Google and the doctor's office. And importantly: I love what I do. BFineMD #letpatientstext #workplacehealth PS: The text imaging accompanying this post is from a patient who just popped-in when I came onsite to discuss a recent tick bite. To have concerns assuaged. I'll stay in touch with him for several days, make sure he remains well and at-peace. Appreciation and value come from some of the simplest encounters. ***** #doctorjobs #healthcare #healthtech #entrepreneur #saas #sms #humanresources #healthbenefits #text Follow me (and click 🔔) and you will smile more. Promise.

Word on the street is that there's going to be an amazing talk about providing easy access, no cost, basic healthcare to employees at the upcoming VA-SHRM conference next week. Apparently - and I'm just the messenger here - dude giving the talk is really funny, and handsome, and wicked smart. #vashrm #shrm #humanresources #wickedsmart

I'm proud to announce that I still haven't raised any venture capital. No big seed round to post about. It's not that I wouldn't want to, per se. It's just that this darn helping-patients, and building-software, and coaching-baseball, and chattin'-with-my-mom, and going-to-kickboxing, and making-adult-friends, and reading-bedtime-stories keeps gettin' in the way. My medical practice, that offers easy access to basic healthcare at no-cost using text messaging and onsite engagement, is cool and thriving. Happy to talk about it with anyone, while also learning what you do. My software, which supports my medical practice and lots of other small businesses by making communicating-with-text easy, is cool and thriving. Happy to talk about it with anyone, while also learning what you do. Gonna keep bootstrappin' for a while, here. And, smiling (most of the time). That's...my brand. BFineMD #letpatientstext #workplacehealth ***** #doctorjobs #healthcare #healthtech #entrepreneur #saas #sms #humanresources #healthbenefits #text Follow me (and click 🔔) and you will smile more. Promise.

My kids played with an old-school Slinky for a couple hours this week. (Cue catchy jingle here...for some of you older folks 🙂 ) Moral of the story? Don't need the latest, greatest 'technology' for high-value. Let patients text. Regular SMS. BF #letpatientstext #workplacehealth ***** #doctorjobs #healthcare #healthtech #entrepreneur #saas #sms #humanresources #healthbenefits #text Follow me (and click 🔔) and you will smile more. Promise.

Here's my 90/80 rule that, to date, I have found is inexorable: 90% of the time, I throw away at least 80% of the strawberries I purchase. As opposed to my 100/99 rule, also inexorable, which states: 100% of the time, 99% of patients love texting their doctor. BFineMD #letpatientstext #workplacehealth ***** #doctorjobs #healthcare #healthtech #entrepreneur #saas #sms #humanresources #healthbenefits #text Follow me (and click 🔔) and you will smile more. Promise.