If Only They Knew

The recent spate of letters related to high cost of medicine, alleged wrong prescription of medicine, & expectations of how doctors should practise medicine, have me reflecting again, on the varied reasons why I decided to take a break from clinical practice more than a year ago.

I see how patients' expectations have become so unrealistic (their ignorance is not entirely their fault, I have to add; it's just that their idealistic views have not changed with the times) that many expect their doctors to be at their beck & call, at the expense of the doctors' personal lives.

I see how money plays a huge factor in how doctors practise medicine. Unfortunately, the advent of managed health care, and medical groups becoming publicly listed, or bought over by listed companies which have to answer to their shareholders, have resulted in the dollar sign becoming a top priority when running a clinic. I know that there are ways of practising medicine (NOT negligently) which can improve profits for the company, and oftentimes, these methods are encouraged so that profit margins look good for the shareholders. However, some of these methods go against the grain of one's soul as a doctor (and no, you don't have to be negligent to practise "profit-geared" medicine).

It's a vicious cycle really, since the average patient expects that a doctor is there to look after his/her health, not thinking that the person whom they have placed on a pedestal would try to squeeze extra dollars out of him/her in doing so. Extrapolate this to corporate clients with some of these expectations who sign contracts with medical groups or managed health care companies (eg. some end up with packages which include unneccessary health screening tests with huge profit margins)- you are looking at potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars ( and I am only referring to primary care, not even specialist care here). And there ARE other ways of "making more money" which I will not mention here...

So there it is. The disillusionment sets in. Maybe eventually, the mindset of the patients will change & they will start to really question whether their healthcare needs are being taken care of cost-effectively or not ( I stress - "COST EFFECTIVELY" - not CHEAPLY). Maybe eventually the patients will also realise that doctors are far from angels (we'll gladly relinquish that image to the nurses *GRIN* who really do deserve that accolade) & are not gods & actually do have personal lives too :).

One day. Maybe. But not soon I think...