Medicine: Doctors v. Paper

Health insurance, a boon to no million people in the U.S., is regarded by more and more doctors as a paper-spewing ogre. Reason: the torrent of technical information requested by insurance forms is cutting into doctors' valuable time for treating patients, leading directly to higher costs for medical care.

With even minor treatment requiring detailed reports, many busy doctors find they can no longer get along with just a receptionist or nurse, are hiring a new kind of medical officeworker—the "insurance secretary." The expense is passed on to the patient (some doctors now charge a special $3 fee for form-filling).

Too Unrealistic. When...

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