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Highlights from the interview:
1–Return to Pre Covid and Pre-Network Hospital Era practices that worked compared to current ones that do not work, for example:
a committees of independent and employed physicians develop a consensus regarding the content of guidelines with which to treat patients’ diseases
b  Allow the formation of independent hospitals managed by physicians and non physician staff, such as finance staff, report to these physicians.
c  Hospitalists return to their original job description as assisting the outpatients’ chosen physician to carry out that out patient physicians’ orders while they are in the hospital.
DÂ Â Direct Primary Care (DPC) and its focus on non insurance memberships be supported and allowed as a patient choice for out and in patient care and for employee options for company paid health care coverage
Dr. Chamanie Wheeler (03:29.998)
About a year and a half ago, my husband and I had the unique privilege to open up our own direct primary care clinic, which is really a paradigm shift for me. So I would love to talk a little bit more about that.
Dr. Chamanie Wheeler (04:11.148)
So as a hospital physician, you do your best. You get a list of patients in front of you that you need to round on and see. And you know you don’t really have the time and you don’t really get to do exactly what you want to do. But you try to do what’s best for them in front of you. during the pandemic, it was actually really rough in that we were being told that you need to…[Unclear phrase] to be told in a way that everything has to be followed into this strict protocol, strict way. And if you deviate from that, and or you had a thought outside of what is accepted by the hospital administrators who didn’t go to the medical school, that you are somehow not doing the right thing.
And so that and then by being vocal about patient autonomy, individual liberties, rights of individuals, nurses that are coming to you and crying to you, patients crying to you. I had situations where moms and babies were separated just based on protocol.
And the initial bonding between a nursing mother just didn’t happen. So in trying to be an advocate for those situations, I started to becoming demonized. And then when I spoke out against mandates, especially the COVID-19 vaccine mandate that individuals had the right to choose what they wanted to do, that kind of started my journey to actually take a step back and say, why can’t I think? and do what I think is best for the patient in front of me. Why did I go to medical school if somebody who didn’t go to medical school is gonna tell me how to be a doctor?
2–“concierge medicine, but it’s not concierge prices”, “monthly membership”, “24 seven access to your physician who knows you”, “covenant of trust.”
Dr .Chamanie Wheeler (07:26.83)
Sure, so what we are, we have joined a group of physicians across from coast to coast that are direct primary care doctors. What that means is we are, it’s a membership model, so we’re not part of, we do not take insurance at all, and it’s like concierge medicine, but it’s not concierge prices. It’s a, pay a monthly membership, and the biggest benefit for that membership is that you have 24 seven access to your physician who knows you and the second biggest benefit from that is …that it really separates the business of medicine from the relationship and What it means to be in the doctor-patient relationship that risk that bond that covenant of trust…we want to be a part of something bigger that truly transforms society. And we bring back the covenant of trust in medicine, the doctor-patient relationship. So that is why we chose to go away from the insurance model.
3–48% National budget spent on healthcare… DPC costs much less than the current insurance based model
Robert N Rust III (22:35.632)
…If I’m an employer with employees of any size… how can I get your model to fit? …
Dr. Chamanie Wheeler (23:38.304)
…so one of the things that you, as an employee, could do is you could actually allow your employees if they choose to choose direct primary care as part of their employee benefit and then. you only have to cover the other portion. There’s a movement called Health Rosetta that sets up businesses all the time with DPC docs. And what they actually show is because everything is based on a relationship, because the doctor really knows the patient, they order less tests, there’s less cost overall. Like the overhead is just so low.
Dr. Chaminie Wheeler (25:21.068)
that the employers actually save money on their plans, tons of money actually. Right now, the US budget, I was at a conference in March that I was shocked when I found this out. The United States budget, 48 % of our national budget goes into healthcare
Dr. Chaminie Wheeler (25:50.806)
Yes. So if you look at it, Medicare is 15%, Medicaid is 10%. But when you look at, the national defense budget, I think 3 % of the national defense budget goes into their health plan benefits. So every other department within the federal government has their budget, but portion of that budget goes into managing their health care plan. .. So when you add all of those percentages together, it ends up being close to 48%. So if we can really transform healthcare, we can probably as a nation get out of debt.
4—An important takeaway from this interview: Â
 ” it only takes a few individuals who are committed to transform society. “
Robert N Rust III (33:34.534)
… what are the most important…things that you want…anybody listening to take away from this interview.
Dr. Chamanie Wheeler (34:00.224)
Number one thing is that just to recognize …we as an individual, you have the power. We just have to get into the trenches to change, make the change. Remember that it only takes a few individuals who are committed to transform society. Our nation is founded on that and you can do it. So to change society…Don’t settle for what you don’t want. Don’t let fear of having that insurance card that’s promising you the security that’s not really giving you what you want. Don’t fear that. But to step out on faith and to look for what it is that you want for your health and for your family.
Appendix
Dr. Chamanie and Greg Wheeler 15530 Kutztown Road Kutztown, PA 19530
Dr. Chaminie A. Wheeler, DO WebMD
Transcript
