Sick, are we ? [The Business Of Medicine]

An essay on the Medical Profession and The Business of Medicine.

   
    From my earliest memory I wanted to be involved in the health care field. When I was a child, when asked “What do you want to be when you grow-up?” My answer was “A Missionary-Doctor-Archeologist.” {people still ask me what I want to be when I grow-up}.
    As with many of us, we may not always reach our peak goals, but I have been reasonably satisfied with what I have achieved. I attend Church on a fairly regular basis; been an EMT, Cardiac Sonographer and Nurse; and am an avid History Buff.
    I have been involved in the medical business from a number of angles, I have been an employee, a business owner and partner, worked in all sizes of Hospitals and private practices and in Practice Management and as a consultant. Among my close friends I count. Doctors, Lawyers, Doctors who are Lawyers, Nurses, Hospital Administrators, Drug and Medical Supply Reps, Insurance Agents and consumers [the above named people are consumers as well, none of us are unaffected] I get input from many sources regarding “The Business Of Medicine”.
    Twenty years ago a Doctor who I worked with and for said “Herb, good medicine is good business.” I have remembered that often and tried to make it a rule when I was in business. [this man is now a member of Congress and I believe that is still his conviction]  Sadly during the ensuing 20 years Medicine has become more of a business than a calling. The highest paid sales jobs in the nation are those of Pharmaceutical Salespeople and Medical Equipment Sales, most profitable are those dealing with Cardiology which was my primary area of interest.
    Few Doctors are actually wealthy. Certainly most make a comfortable living and they deserve to, considering the expense of their education and training and the actual hours they work. [most take their own call or share call with just a few others, their day starts hours before their office time and continues after ‘office hours’]. However ,Harvard School of Business did a study of incoming students  and those who stated that their goal was to make money fast and acquire a comfortable retirement quickly. The majority of those surveyed elected to go to medical school !
    I still feel that most of those who enter the medical field at any level do so because of a desire to help the hurting. Big money and big business have attracted many with different motives in recent years. The last Hospital I worked at was a teaching Hospital and I got know many of the Emergency and Family Practice Residents we had on staff. Many were there because they really wanted to be Doctors, but an increasing number have a more mercenary motivation. One young man who’s Father is also an MD said without any reservation “I wasn’t smart enough to get into law school and don’t have a good head for business so I went to Med School.”

 Part Two in a few days will cover "Costs-Contributing and Containing"