Survey: Family Docs to Scale Back or Bail

[facetguy]

www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4AH1CE20081118?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&rpc=76

A new physician survey finds that many family physicians plan to either cut back their hours or get out of patient care altogether, citing overwork, too much paperwork, and I'm sure not enough pay. This just reaffirms the fact that healthcare is broken and is headed for even more trouble without some kind of reform. How about a little government bailout money for family docs? (Everyone else has their hands out, so why not.)

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[Danbo1957]

Rather than waiting for either President-elect Barack Obama to take office next year or for the 111th Congress to convene, Senate Democratic leaders this week are escalating discussions on an ambitious overhaul of the health care system

Story continues:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20081117/pl_cq_politics/politics2986895_8#full

 

[pharm B]

This article is posted elsewhere (I believe in pre-MD). Reading through the information, two factors come up: Health care costs have risen highly, and specialist salaries have risen highly.

I'm not assuming a relationship between the two. (i.e. I don't think well-paid surgeons are causing health care costs to go up)

But why have costs risen so dramatically?

 

[facetguy]

This article is posted elsewhere (I believe in pre-MD). Reading through the information, two factors come up: Health care costs have risen highly, and specialist salaries have risen highly.

I'm not assuming a relationship between the two. (i.e. I don't think well-paid surgeons are causing health care costs to go up)

But why have costs risen so dramatically?

While not an exhaustive list, here are a few reasons: (feel free to add)
*Greater reliance on and usage of high-tech tests/equipment
*Defensive medical practices leading to more dx testing
*Reliance on expensive medications for everything under the sun
*People are on-the-whole less healthy. Take obesity, for example. Numbers are skyrocketing, particularly in kids, and with obesity comes a host of other maladies, not the least of which is diabetes, which is tremendously expensive to treat.
*Lack of emphasis on true prevention.

 

[mig2k]

While not an exhaustive list, here are a few reasons: (feel free to add)
*Greater reliance on and usage of high-tech tests/equipment
*Defensive medical practices leading to more dx testing
*Reliance on expensive medications for everything under the sun
*People are on-the-whole less healthy. Take obesity, for example. Numbers are skyrocketing, particularly in kids, and with obesity comes a host of other maladies, not the least of which is diabetes, which is tremendously expensive to treat.
*Lack of emphasis on true prevention.

You pretty much nailed it on the head. I would rank CYA (cover-your-*****) medicine as top of the list though.

 

[Dr.Millisevert]

www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4AH1CE20081118?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&rpc=76

A new physician survey finds that many family physicians plan to either cut back their hours or get out of patient care altogether, citing overwork, too much paperwork, and I'm sure not enough pay. This just reaffirms the fact that healthcare is broken and is headed for even more trouble without some kind of reform. How about a little government bailout money for family docs? (Everyone else has their hands out, so why not.)

Maybe you should move to Australia. The American Board of Family Medicine has a reciprocal agreement with the Australian College of General Practitioners (their equivalent FM specialty board). You will need to sit their AMC exams (exams for foreign doctors to get a license). Family Doctors in Australia make on average 25-100% high salaries than US family doctors.

A lot of Family doctors in Queensland set up private practices where they do skin cancer biopsies all day... some of these guys make half a mil/yr. Income taxes in Australia are about the same as if you were living in California, but if you consider that you also wouldn't have to pay extra to send your kids to a good school without metal detectors, you wouldn't have to pay as much in medical malpractice, and you wouldn't have to pay a lot for extra health care... you'd be netting even more!

Any takers?