[Villages PL]

Here's the way it was presented to be revolutionary:

1) They (the developer and others) said PCPs have usually been paid for volume. In the case of volume they needed about 2,500+ patients and would have to rush each office visit. It was quantity but not quality, said the developer. In this new (Village Clinics) system each PCP would have no more than 1,250 patients. There would be no waiting, the doctor might spend as much as a half hour with you and you could even drop in without an appointment if you felt the need.

2) So this question followed: How will PCPs make enough money with less than half the patients they would normally have? And the answer to that, given by the developer: They will be paid "generous salaries" so they won't have to rush. Quality will be rewarded rather than quantity.

3) The promotion of "electronic record sharing" between PCPs and specialists was a big part of why federal grant money was given in the first place. Eventually, one's medical records could be shared with any doctor in the U.S., not just locally.

You can look at it from the point of view of certain typical aspects if you like, but it definitely wasn't promoted as typical. The three points above were given as distinguishing features that would make it like nothing ever tried before. Although, they said it would be reminiscent of the TV character, Marcus Welby, M.D. who knew all of his patients well and spent lots of time chatting with them.

Was it all just a slick marketing campaign, in your opinion?