Physician Driving Revenue?

My friend had an interesting experience the other day.  She had a call from her primary care physician’s office asking her to come in for an appointment.  But, when she asked the staff why, they didn’t have an answer.  The woman that called simply said that the doctor had asked her to call and set up the appointment.  I told her that was pretty unusual.  My friend knew that it might simply be as a follow-up to a prescription that needed to be renewed, but it’s a thyroid medication that she has taken for a decade and had gotten blood work draw on it 2 months earlier.  So, it begs two questions – why couldn’t the staff answer the question and why would the physician need her to come in.

But, it made me think of a Chief Medical Officer that I know.  One day, he told me this story that although clearly logically has left an impression.  He said that doctors certainly have the ability to control some percentage of healthcare spend and some of their revenue stream.  He took the example of a patient falling off a bike and getting hurt.  They then go into their physician to get checked out.  He said that a busy physician would likely check the patient out and not seeing any major issues suggest that they go home, take some Motrin, and call them if they still feel any pain in 48 hours.  On the other hand, a physician that wasn’t very busy would check the patient out, ask them to go get some tests done, and schedule a follow-up visit.  I have always wondered if it really is true.  That would be a good “eyewitness news investigates” story.