January 8, 2009
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Healthcare and Profit
Just a short thought for today, as the current question making the rounds of medbloggers is what role does profit play in healthcare?
Let’s face it, medicine is no longer a profitable industry. As a service industry it simply cannot be…though the profit most folks used to get was not a financial one, it seems these days like that feeling has somewhat dwindled as well.
More and more medical students are ignoring the field of primary care and specializing, going into private practice or boutique medicine or trying to get one of those coveted R.O.A.D. to happiness lifestyle specialties (I know I am!) Why? I mean at some point we all wanted to go into medicine “to help people”- at what point did that change to “help myself?”
And if it did, is that something that we should be judged on? Is it so wrong to want to do well for myself if the field I am in is based around helping other people? My mechanic doest fix my car for free, he doesnt care that I am unemployed and in debt. My dentist takes all he can get from my insurance company, nothing for free.
Medicine is a service industry, but unlike most others we dont reserve the right to refuse service to anybody, no matter how poorly you treat us or yourself-so how come whenever a doctor is seen to be doing particularly well for himself, there is a section of the community clamoring that shenanigans must be going on?
Is it okay for doctors to make money and do well? Or is that strictly relegated to the television docs, who always remain well paid, well rested, and usually with full social calendars?
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Why Not Zoidberg
Comments (3)
As long as they have good intentions about helping people and are not in it for money alone, I don’t see wanting more pay, and good-life style as wrong! Their altruistic potential, plus earthly sacrifices - I admire doctors for what they can do…
I don’t blame anyone for not wanting to go into primary care. The pay isn’t that great, the hours are long–maybe not quite as bad as during residency, but that is what some of my husband’s friends are experiencing. He did 2 residencies, so that way he could be a specialist instead of just primary care and the hours are better.
Amen Friend!