It's hard not to grow a bit cynical... esp. by the time you're in the game for as long as I am. As you very well know, the healthcare we have today is the result of endless pressures and manipulations on the part of the government and their bureaucrats -- and of people adjusting their behavior to those pressures. I could talk about it until the cows come home.
I have a good friend who had a large family practice in Arkansas. The guy worked 7 days a week. He had to give it up for health reasons, needed more time off. He took a job with our Hospitalist program. To his surprise, not only did he get much more time off, but also a big increase in income. My story is similar. In 25 years in private practice I took 2 weeks off... only once. All my "big" vacations were one week. Now, after slowing down quite a bit, I get 2 weeks off every month, and still make more money.
As far as costs go, my employers charge for my work more than I would ever expect in a dream. If i tried to charge half as much, my patients would think that I've gone nuts. But when an institution asks for that much, no one is surprised.
One of the results of the way the government allocates funds is that institutions and hospitals are taking over most of out- and inpatient primary, and to a large extent specialist care. I think this may be the main reason of healthcare costs accelerating faster than inflation. The only thing surprising about it all is that no one pays attention to the obvious. Call me cynical again, but I suspect there is no profit in spilling the beans. Public health researchers must be liking their jobs.
Should I go on?
Other than that, things are nice... Enjoying the relatively cool summer.... :) |
