All Articles by JC, MD
Dr. JC is a medical doctor who has a passion for health promotion and education.
The Reimbursement Crisis in Medicine – Are We Shooting Ourselves in the Foot?
In this era of declining reimbursements, I've been thinking a lot about socialized medicine and how physicians can stop the bleeding. It's clear that reimbursements cannot go lower for many physicians. If they go lower lots of docs simply won't be able to run their offices anymore.While the cost of healthcare continues to increase and insurance companies want to cut costs, the total cost of care needs to be looked at. If an insurance carrier has X dollars to spend on a surgery or on an office visit, the each piece of that procedure or visit must be looked at.
The Medical Profession on a Downward Spiral?
I recently read an interesting editorial from the NY Times regarding the professions of law and medicine and how they continue to lack the luster that they used to have. It's sad but true. Medicine just is not what it used to be. Although the profession is not hurting for aspiring young physicians, application numbers have waxed and waned but have not steadily increased. Meanwhile, the satisfaction of those in the medical profession continues to steadily decline.
The 80 Hour Work Week Is Only The Beginning
For those of you who don't know. The 80 hour work week is a relatively new limitation for resident physicians in training. This rule was put into effect a few years ago to prevent sleep deprivation among physicians in training. The rule was meant to curtail medical errors such as incorrect prescriptions, wrong procedures, or any time of malpractice that is more likely to occur when a physician does not have enough sleep.Some of us trained in medicine at a time when there were no work hour restrictions. 100 plus hour work weeks were a norm.
Conflicts of Interest in Drug Prescribing
As reimbursements continue to decrease every year, physicians must be extremely financial savvy in order to survive. Some areas of the United States can't seem to find enough doctors (think middle of the country), whereas others have a glut of doctors (think West and East Coasts). Coupled with the tough financial climate, there is the competition among practitioners who need to make a living in medicine to pay their bills and support their family. The golden days of doctors being rich off of their profession simply do not exist anymore. In order to do that, physicians must invest their income and make wise financial decisions.
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