It appears that Medicare keeps the fee for an office visit low. This causes the doctors to schedule frequent, short exams. They also do frequent diagnostic test

It appears that Medicare keeps the fee for an office visit low. This causes the doctors to schedule frequent, short exams. They also do frequent diagnostic tests to increase revenue per visit. Less frequent, more thorough visits would seem to be more efficient for all. Lots of senior care is pretty elastic, since most visits result in no change in drugs or procedures for the patient. They are simply monitoring chronic and/or progressive conditions.