From the Perspective of a Primary Care Doctor..

[itsalovestory]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/25/harris.primary.care.doctor/index.html

An article written by a primary care doctor, relaying his experiences in his field and why health care reform needs to heavily consider its impacts on such physicians.

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[Omni]

I've read plenty of articles about this HC reform and I always see that it is amongst: the gov't, the insurance company, and the people. See any key group(s) that is missing from the picture? Either the AMA isn't loud enough or simply the gov't is wanting to sacrifice the doctors for the outcome they think will be good for the US.
Also, many people want a cap on mal practice lawsuit rewards...but that's not gonna happen with Obama because the lawyers who donated millions of dollars to him during his campaign are the ones who rely on those kinds of lawsuits and would be pissed if he put a cap. Obama really is a double-sided agent.

 

[jdwmont]

Want to be depressed? Read the comments.

 

[dw2158]

Want to be depressed? Read the comments.

seriously. wow.

 

[echolalia16]

Want to be depressed? Read the comments.

I'm seriously stunned.

 

[RomanCandle]

its really sad that people see physicians as such easy targets. there was one comment by some guy who honestly thought PCPs make $500,000/yr. its depressing that people can't get informed about the system before making judgements on it.

 

[MegaProjectile]

Can someone tell those yahoos commenting that half of the $75 will go for paying overhead and insurance? Educating the lay public on physician compensation will take a long time. All they see are the plastic surgeons and cardiologists driving a BMW.

 

[MadTown ChzHead]

Man people are ignorant ...

Here's my favorite comment so far

"Are you looking for sympathy with all the complaining? $75 per patient time 4 patients per hour is $300.00 per hour, times 8 hours is $2400 per day, times 300 days (let's not leave out your vacation time) results in $720,000 per year."

LOL!!!!

 

[MegaProjectile]

Man people are ignorant ...

Here's my favorite comment so far

"Are you looking for sympathy with all the complaining? $75 per patient time 4 patients per hour is $300.00 per hour, times 8 hours is $2400 per day, times 300 days (let's not leave out your vacation time) results in $720,000 per year."

LOL!!!!

.....So many holes in that math.

 

[RomanCandle]

Man people are ignorant ...

Here's my favorite comment so far

"Are you looking for sympathy with all the complaining? $75 per patient time 4 patients per hour is $300.00 per hour, times 8 hours is $2400 per day, times 300 days (let's not leave out your vacation time) results in $720,000 per year."

LOL!!!!

it makes me so mad there are soooo many comments like that. people seriously believe that doctors are in it for the money. i wish they would take aim at insurance companies and malpractice lawyers like that.

 

[teacherman84]

I liked the comment about PAs 6 years of training being comparable to physicians 8 years of training (both including undergrad according to the poster). Besides their ignoring the minimum 3 years of internship and residency, to think that what a PA learns in 2 years post-bacc to what a physician learns in 7. It blows me away at how little people know about what physicians go through to get where they are.

 

[caniac]

I liked the one about needing a TFA program for physicians. There's a way to save lives

I had a lot of friends do TFA, and they felt wholly unprepared for teaching a class when they first began (though they've quickly gotten the hang of it). Can you imagine being that first patient? Hi my name is Dr. Caniac. I graduated from college in May, but don't worry, I'm a doctor.

 

[echolalia16]

This is why I get scared of democracy. These are the people that vote where this country is headed. The ignorant have just a strong a voice as the educated, and outnumber us significantly.

 

[dw2158]

This is why I get scared of democracy. These are the people that vote where this country is headed. The ignorant have just a strong a voice as the educated, and outnumber us significantly.

there's a slippery slope towards dictatorship with that kind of logic

but yeah, those comments make me sad. i'm reading a book right now called "overtreated" by shannon brownlee, and a lot of what she talks about is reflected in this article. it was interesting to read about how many unnecessary procedures, etc. PCPs have the power to stop from happening... in a better system, that is.

i must say, i am starting to revisit my original plan of becoming a PCP... it would be good in a lot of ways.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

lot of whining, not a lot of solutions

 

[MilkmanAl]

This is why I get scared of democracy. These are the people that vote where this country is headed. The ignorant have just a strong a voice as the educated, and outnumber us significantly.

Amen to that. One thing I find hilarious is that (to make a gross generalization) poor, white southerners vote in the policies that screw them over. Sorry, guys, they didn't take yer jerbs; you did. I don't know how you prevent that kind of stuff from happening without disenfranchising people, but it sure as hell is frustrating.

By the way, it really is appalling how little people know about the medical profession. Yeah, we'll be compensated well, but we'll also work like dogs over long hours and train rigorously for the better part of a decade to get that paycheck. Terrible.

edit: $720k a year? Holy crap, I'm going into FP fo sho!

 

[jdwmont]

Public sentiment such as this, along with a populist president, may ruin our chosen profession if something is not done.

 

[Slowpoke]

It's a general idea ingrained into the minds of the laypeople that doctors live an immensely lavish life (this should not be news to anyone). Often, they don't see the struggle, the sacrifice, the hardwork, the sweat, and, at times, the tears.

This is what I've come to accept. What's ironic is that these are the same people who will need our help in the future - so frustrated as you may be, it comes full circle.

 

[jdwmont]

I would encourage everone reading this thread to post something on CNN in the medical profession's defense.

 

[Concubine]

The comments are depressing. People are angry, but justifiably so. Hospital bills are outrageous. I just wish they would distribute the blame where it really should go instead of on PCPs.

 

[echolalia16]

I would encourage everone reading this thread to post something on CNN in the medical profession's defense.

Already have. Unfortunately I'm fairly confident that the people that are posting ignorant responses are the same people who don't care to take the time to do research on the subject, even if it means reading what people with dissenting views have to say on a cnn discussion board.

 

[dw2158]

I would encourage everone reading this thread to post something on CNN in the medical profession's defense.

i don't even know where to begin refuting some of the arguments posted on there. but i guess i'll give it a shot

The comments are depressing. People are angry, but justifiably so. Hospital bills are outrageous. I just wish they would distribute the blame where it really should go instead of on PCPs.

seriously. poor PCPs!

 

[RomanCandle]

you'd think that CNN.com posters would have more common sense than the average yahoo answers poster.

 

[MadTown ChzHead]

It's a general idea ingrained into the minds of the laypeople that doctors live an immensely lavish life (this should not be news to anyone). Often, they don't see the struggle, the sacrifice, the hardwork, the sweat, and, at times, the tears.

This is what I've come to accept. What's ironic is that these are the same people who will need our help in the future - so frustrated as you may be, it comes full circle.

I'll tell you what ... Dr. 90210 and the likes surely don't help the image of physicians. Most lay people often form their opinions from what they see and hear in the media. I hope people realize he is a plastic surgeon (a pompous d-bag plastic surgeon at that, IMO) and is nowhere representative of your average physician. I fear, however, that too many people equate his lifestyle and wealth with all types of physicians and this perpetuates the view that all doctors have seven figure salaries, multiple high end sports cars and trophy wives etc....

 

[TopSecret]

This is why I get scared of democracy. These are the people that vote where this country is headed. The ignorant have just a strong a voice as the educated, and outnumber us significantly.

Welcome to the real world, where success and ambition are penalized and failure and idleness are rewarded.

 

[GTV]

Man, those comments piss me off. But I guess part of being a physician is dealing with those sort of misconceptions with a level head...

 

[armybound]

I love the logic in those comments. Doctors should just be happy that they have the "oppurtunity" to treat patients.

I would love to open a business and let everyone know that their pay for doing their job is the opportunity to do the work. I'm sure they can pay their mortgages with promises and feed their children inspiration.

 

[Simplify]

welcome to the real world, where success and ambition are penalized and failure and idleness are rewarded.

qft

 

[MadTown ChzHead]

I love the logic in those comments. Doctors should just be happy that they have the "oppurtunity" to treat patients.

I would love to open a business and let everyone know that their pay for doing their job is the opportunity to do the work. I'm sure they can pay their mortgages with promises and feed their children inspiration.

Amen man

 

[TopSecret]

You can't even get an oil change for less than $55 at JiffyLube, especially if your car needs synthetic oil because of sludging.

 

[TopSecret]

I love the logic in those comments. Doctors should just be happy that they have the "oppurtunity" to treat patients.

I would love to open a business and let everyone know that their pay for doing their job is the opportunity to do the work. I'm sure they can pay their mortgages with promises and feed their children inspiration.

The only place where that applies is in prison.

 

[mrmilad]

Don't be alarmed or surprised by the idiocy you see in the comments. These comments are by people who find it difficult to understand the most basic scientific concepts such as evolution. These are the sheeps of our society that are so easily herded that they can't see how *****ic their arguments are. They complain about the salaries of doctors who spend decades saving lives and incurring huge debts, but do they complain about their favorite athelete who makes 20 millions a year? How many people out there are asking for reform in the NBA? How can anyone in their sane mind think that a guy who plays basketball deserves 20 million a year but a doctor who is saving your life, and has dedicated his life to understanding the most complex biological system in the universe does not? BREAK DOWN OF LOGIC. We cannot expect the average Joe to wrap his head around these logical things, if they could obesity would have been wiped out long ago.

 

[Trexate]

Don't be alarmed or surprised by the idiocy you see in the comments. These comments are by people who find it difficult to understand the most basic scientific concepts such as evolution. These are the sheeps of our society that are so easily herded that they can't see how *****ic their arguments are. They complain about the salaries of doctors who spend decades saving lives and incurring huge debts, but do they complain about their favorite athelete who makes 20 millions a year? How many people out there are asking for reform in the NBA? How can anyone in their sane mind think that a guy who plays basketball deserves 20 million a year but a doctor who is saving your life, and has dedicated his life to understanding the most complex biological system in the universe does not? BREAK DOWN OF LOGIC. We cannot expect the average Joe to wrap his head around these logical things, if they could obesity would have been wiped out long ago.

Wouldn't be as bad if these weren't the people we were trying to help.

 

[armybound]

This topic always pisses me off to no end. How can people tell you what you should or should not make? How can people place such an emphasis on wanting to spend time with their physician and at the same time say the doctor gets paid too much?

Who is to say what you can or cannot make, or how much money you feel is an adequate compensation for your time and effort?

 

[TopSecret]

This topic always pisses me off to no end. How can people tell you what you should or should not make? How can people place such an emphasis on wanting to spend time with their physician and at the same time say the doctor gets paid too much?

Who is to say what you can or cannot make, or how much money you feel is an adequate compensation for your time and effort?

Are you really Army bound?

In the military you're salaried and ordered what to do, even risk your life and limb. It comes with the job. The doctor in the link was killed by a mortar round that hit near his living quarters. His pay was probably a little over $100,000 as a reserve trauma surgeon.

http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/surgery/faculty/jpp.html

 

[armybound]

Are you really Army bound?

In the military you're salaried and ordered what to do, even risk your life and limb. It comes with the job. The doctor in the link was killed by a mortar round that hit near his living quarters. His pay was probably a little over $100,000 as a reserve trauma surgeon.

http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/surgery/faculty/jpp.html

I used to want to join the Army. What's it have to do with this discussion?

 

[TopSecret]

I used to want to join the Army. What's it have to do with this discussion?

Not much freedom in the military. People tell you when to wake up, eat, sleep, and work. They may even tell you to live in a dirty hole for several months.

 

[armybound]

Not much freedom in the military. People tell you when to wake up, eat, sleep, and work. They may even tell you to live in a dirty hole for several months.

I'm still not understanding the connection between agreeing to work under certain conditions in the military and the discussion at hand.

If you're saying agreeing to work for a certain amount of money is the same as allowing some outside person dictate your income without your consent, I'd say you may be missing a link there.