East vs. West

I wonder if I should turn my office into a spa.

It seems spas are now incorporating acupuncture, an age-old therapy from the Far East, and billing $90-150 for one "therapist" to place little needles in peoples' forehead and allowing them to relax. People are flocking to these places.

In Western medicine, we too sometimes place needles in people, but at slightly different places.

But according to the Medicare 2007 fee schedule for an established patient office visit (codes 99213, 99214, or 99215), we can only collect (on average) between $45 and $130 and have a lot more paperwork.

No wonder doctors are thinking more and more about spas...

... they're stressed.

- Wes