andrea@hp-sdd.UUCP (andrea) (02/24/85)
> > 1. Is medicine a business? If you think the answer is > an easy YES, ask yourself if Fire Departments > and Police protection also should be business. > It is clear that there is a DOUBLE STANDARD > of medical care in this country. Just try to > get into a good hospital without money or insurance! > Actually, many areas do have private companies providing fire and/or police protection. There is a general question here of whether we should rely on the government to provide services or stimulate the private sector to. Oftentimes the government is less efficient in their use of money and talent, but on the other hand the government usually (not always) recognizes one's right to basic services whereas the private sector is usually (not always) is profit-driven. Not an easy choice! > 2. Are physicians reimbursed appropriately? Probably > not, an opthalmologist or cardiothoracic surgeon > can make more money in a morning than a primary > care physician can make in a week...and a lucky > real estate salesman can make more than all three in > just a few hours....The issue is appropriate for > public debate. How can the public (who pay the > bills) help develop a reimbursement based upon > how well a physician thinks, instead of what > he/she does? > One way is to vote with your pocketbook! I have "collected" favorite physicians over the years - an exceptionally sensitive gynecologist, a dentist who works quickly and well while causing no pain, an MD who specializes in nutritional approaches and keeps an open mind about exploring alternative therapies - and will drive to the other side of the city to utilize these practitioners rather than going to J. Random Standard_Doctor nearby. All of these gems are more concerned about helping people get and stay healthy than they are in making a fortune, and they all charge what I feel are very reasonable fees. Side note: (Among our long-time friends are a doctor and a veterinarian, and from them I have realized that the requirements of running a business are really expensive - the companies which supply the goods and services that a doctor needs seem to have a price-structure based on the overpriced physicians, which suggests that a whole economic structure will have to change/evolve together in order to change the price structure of medical care.) Two things I think are key: networking the information about this type of doctor (exceptionally good, sensitive, and reasonably priced) and learning to be assertive about your own health care. I have started acknowledging my own sense of when I am being ripped off, and learning that I can indeed drop a doctor in "mid-illness" when I feel that I am not getting my money's worth. I have recently joined the Peoples Medical Society (organized by the Rodale folks); they have only just started, but I think they're headed in the right direction. They acknowledge that we, as consumers of health care services, make our own choices, but/and that society as a whole often determines what we have to choose from. They publish helpful information (such as guides to evaluating and selecting nursing homes) and gather information about the quality of care received at various hospitals and from different physicians. They are encouraging people to provide input about their own experiences with specific doctors and hospitals, in order to build a data base which we can all benefit from. (If you have ever called a name at random from the yellow pages because you had no recommendations to go on in a new city, you'll appreciate why!) I believe they also intend to try to change what is wrong with the system, to promote more high-quality reasonably-priced (and prevention-oriented) health care. If you are interested in this kind of activity, I'd suggest you look them up - they put ads in a variety of magazines. Andrea Frankel, Hewlett-Packard (San Diego Division) (619) 487-4100 x4664 net: {allegra|ihnp4|decvax|ucbvax}!hplabs!hp-sdd!andrea ...searchlights casting for faults in the clouds of delusion