Copeman clinics come under scrutiny

Wayne Kondro

doi:10.1503/cmaj.060179

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Response to article on Copeman clinics, March 14
Tom W. Bell

Posted on: 17 March 2006

Posted on: (17 March 2006)
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Response to article on Copeman clinics, March 14
Tom W. Bell
I find the rhetoric around private clinics, enrollment fees and annual dues for "gold plated" services pretty amusing. Copeman's clients get 24 hr on call and house calls - let me see, isn't that what we family docs are supposed to be doing anyway? Certainly it all started out that way. Here's my bottom line, attention all ministers of health of Canada- I am willing to compete with the Copeman Clinics - for the ho...
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I find the rhetoric around private clinics, enrollment fees and annual dues for "gold plated" services pretty amusing. Copeman's clients get 24 hr on call and house calls - let me see, isn't that what we family docs are supposed to be doing anyway? Certainly it all started out that way. Here's my bottom line, attention all ministers of health of Canada- I am willing to compete with the Copeman Clinics - for the horrid sum of $250 per year per patient, no enrollment fee, I will provide the same core services, AND do health promotion and teaching, and align my patients with specialists. Oh, and by the way, I won't need to bill the provinical system, because with about 2,000 patients I will have a reasonable income AND cover my overhead and not need to employ all kinds of middle men like Copeman. I probably would need to have a Nurse Practitioner employed to help handle 2,000 patients, but that is all. With this arrangement, it would be a matter of, oh, about 5 minutes to sign up 6 or 7 other like minded family docs here in Peterborough and suddenly, it is all looked after. Hello Mr. Smitherman, does this make any sense?
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Competing Interests: None declared.