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Private Practice Basics is an OER series on healthcare literacy. OERs are open-source educational resources. Though the series is written with pediatricians in mind, the OERs are used by physicians of all specialties. The OERs are used not just for onboarding or orienting but also for maintaining currency in healthcare literacy.

We write with pediatricians in mind because of the sheer quantity of work they have to contend with, relative to other specialties. Primary care physicians, such as pediatric practices, are largely an endeavor of preventive medicine, the prioritization of preventing disease, instead of waiting for the disease to present itself.

Consequently, a considerable percentage of the hours spent at the practice, are appropriated toward preventative clinical and medical schedules. One such schedule is the Periodicity Schedule in pediatrics. Another is the Immunization Schedule, which is compulsory for school admissions, and is published by the CDC. The schedules of requirements, compounded by the occasionally incompatible requirements of health insurance companies and even Medicaid, often breed a bit of disdain among PCPs.

Common adages or refrains in healthcare are: "There aren't enough doctors." Or, "Healthcare economics are perverse." There's some truth to these gross simplifications. But the problem of "not enough doctors" can be alleviated by "altering a few lines of code" in the overall healthcare system. This is what Basics does.

Private Practice Basics is a core curriculum that establishes building blocks private practices use to develop unique languages and language learning systems. Organizations that connect the largest number of people are the definition of impact. Unfortunately, especially for pediatric practices, this impact goes unseen and unappreciated. The aforementioned "perverse economics". Invariably, unseen and unrewarded doctors drop out of the medical labor market. But like unemployment numbers that don't "tell the full story," it could be said that we don't have as few doctors as we might be tallying--though we certainly could use more doctors.

Though seemingly farfetched, private practices present the most potential for impact in healthcare. In Basics, we explore how language is at the heart of exercising this potential, which humans are uniquely capable of developing an overarching culture by--like we do online. Basics open source the code for practices to use to establish universal compatibility and interoperability, so that their work is seen, intelligible, and appreciated. Especially reimbursable. Basics doesn't add work to an already overwhelmed practice. Instead, it consolidates work. We start by simplifying the work at the practice into two broad operational areas.

Please note that what we talk about in our podcasts is for informational purposes only. The information is general in nature and can never substitute for the advice of a medical professional, like your doctor or nurse practitioner. Listening to a podcast or commenting on podcast media never establishes privileged patient relationships. Though we discuss healthcare and medicine, no warranty is made that any information is accurate. Even if a statement about medicine is accurate, it may not apply to you or your symptoms. ParkHealth cannot take any responsibility for the results or consequences of any attempt to use or adopt any of the information presented. For more information on this legal notice and other disclaimers, see park