Somewhat random comments:
What we do in medical care is triage. We assess who needs attention more than others. So to mention triage as though it's burdensome is not really relevant. Then to go on to say that the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (where I also have been a patient and I do think is a good system) works well because of a system that is exactly triage, shows a lack of understanding of the dynamics of medical care. Just because someone believes he/she has a condition that warrants immediate treatment does not mean that's the case. Sorry. We're used to immediate attention in the U.S. and that's one of the reasons we have these complaints.
Doc in the boxes can keep a more regular schedule because they aren't anyone's primary care provider, or at least they aren't supposed to be. So they don't end up having the sometimes long conversations that can occur at visits about people's lives. They also don't usually perform physicals or other potentially lengthy counseling visits unless they are contracted to do so.
What this article could have been about is the way the medical system can use all of its staff to provide better care. Sometimes counseling can be done by a nurse, or a nutritionist, or other staff, and doesn't have to be done by a physician. But a practice needs to be reimbursed for that time and not just for the doctor's time. It may be that the doctor, believe it or not, is not the most knowlegable source about things like all of the possible birth control options, and a health educator would do better. These alternative staffing options are what needs to be discussed to get people the right care they need for their own particular issues. Then time is saved care needs. But then patients need to recognize that the doctor is not always the one who will be advising you and that needs to be OK. So there's another more constructive article here about the way medical care is delivered in the United States.
Finally, please don't generalize the bad habits of some providers to all of us. And please don't talk about Kaiser as though it's some alien entity from outer space. That only shows geographic bias (i.e., east coast bias) and let's me know that you haven't quite done your homework. Of course, there's another discussion to be had about Kaiser that might not be so favorable. But that could be another story.
