Watch 60 Minutes tonight

[owen_osh]

"MEDICAL EMERGENCY ? Two generations of the Smith family practice medicine, but the third generation may not want to, as malpractice insurance rates go higher and reimbursement keeps getting lower. Mike Wallace reports."

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[ermonty]

Now that sounds like something I'd like to watch! Only problem is that I cut off my cable. I got tired of my cable company going up on their rates . . . damn Comcast!

 

[kreno]

you don't need cable, just a an antenna

 

[lola]

hey, thanks! that sounds interesting.

 

[UCSBMed1]

I checked tvguide.com and it said that they will be talking to Clinton and Dole on the episode...are you sure that story is this week?

 

[mws99]

That was a very interesting segment, but it was pretty scary. The OB/GYN said he can't deliver babies anymore because the insurance premiums are $1,000,000 a year. And his siblings that provide care for uninsured people are trying their hardest to just break even. The segment seemed to say that a lot of the problems will be solved if the tort reform bill is passed, but that will be tough with lawyers running the country.

 

[Ginza]

Yeah, it was definitely scary although not really anything I haven't heard or seen before. Oy. I've been so stressed out about applying for financial aid and figuring out how to just survive the next four years, that I often make myself feel better by saying "It's just four years that money will be such a huge stress, you can handle that." I can honestly say that I don't want to be a doctor for the money or the presitige, but it's so disheartening to know that the business part of medicine will be such a presence throughout my entire career.

 

[phar]

ginza...you are probably going to hate for me saying this. I want to be a doctor also....but you know what?
We all go to college and prof schools to make a good living which is the basic...the rest(passions, i want to do this not because of money....) just come along.
In a sense, money is a driving force(or at least a factor) whether you want to believe me or not

 

[Brewster]

Sure, we all go into this because we want to, not for money. There are much better ways to make money than being a doctor. However, it is not just a mere annoyance of having the business side of medicine to deal with. No one can stay in practice if they are paying so much in malpractice premiums that they have little left over for mortgages, food, bills, education for their children, and, yes, a little fun.

 

[Ginza]

No, I don't hate you for saying that...but it doesn't mean that I agree. The way I see it, if money was my motivating factor, I would be as far away from my current position as humanly possible (that is, poor and ready to move even further into debt). Of course we all want to make a good living where we can provide for our families etc, but I don't want to turn this into an "are you in it for the money" thread.

The 60 minutes piece really got me thinking about some things other than the economics of practicing medicine today. Modern medicine has just gotten so good over the past several decades, that if you walk into your doctor's office and don't walk out cured......it must automatically be that doctor's fault. It's a double edged sword. I think our society's attitute towards doctors is completely changing from being someone who helps the sick to the best of their abilities to someone who is expected to cure the sick unless they are incompetent. I honestly believe that this is a large part of why there are so many more medical lawsuits today. Of course I know this is a overly simplified statement, but it's just a thought.