Results 1 to 10 of 16
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11-18-2008, 11:39 AM #1
CNN: Half of primary-care doctors in survey would leave medicine
Of the 12,000 respondents, 49 percent said they'd consider leaving medicine. Many said they are overwhelmed with their practices, not because they have too many patients, but because there's too much red tape generated from insurance companies and government agencies....
...One of President-elect Barack Obama's health care promises is to provide a primary care physician for every American. But some health experts, including Pocinki, are skeptical.
"People who have insurance can't find a doctor, so suddenly we are going to give insurance to a whole bunch of people who haven't had it, without increasing the number of physicians?" he says. "It's going to be a problem."
Full article
My wife works for a private physicians office and the main doctor/owner has said he is seriously considering taking a hospital staff position and closing his practice now that Obama will be the President....
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11-19-2008, 12:21 PM #2
If I was a doctor I would do the same thing but not because Obama won. I think is the best way to make good money and have someone elses insurance cover for you
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11-19-2008, 12:31 PM #3
Its not even just private physicians...
The lawsuits and issues with insurance... its all a joke.
The medical system as a whole is a joke to be honest.
Can't turn away those with no insurance... so we'll do just enough so they don't die right away and then ship them off so they can die later or come back again soon and then waste more tax payers money. But all the "real" people and people who "matter" HAVE to get insurance... but then when they need various surgeries... "oh well... sorry but that's not covered". REDICULOUS
~Dave
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11-22-2008, 01:44 AM #4
I'll chime in here since my dad is a doctor and frequently discusses the matter with me.
His radiology group has a contract with the largest hospital in town, and part of their contract states that they have to see EVERYONE including those without insurance. This has been going on for quite some time. The catch to this all, however, is that most of those without insurance end up never paying their bills, but the doctors can't stop seeing the insurance-less patients because they would lose their eligibility to receive money from Medicare/Medicaid.
Even though this is a large problem for doctors, he's told me that most can weather it pretty well. He does, however, fully believe that the #1 threat to doctors right now is egregious malpractice suits. Patients or their families will almost always bring a suit forth against doctors if any medical procedure didn't go 100% as planned because, in my own opinion, I think many people don't really grasp the concept that doctors are not gods. They can only do so much.
I'd like to provide you with an example of how people are exploiting the tort system in this respect ---
A young woman was brought into the hospital in which my father works because she had been out drinking all night and decided to race her friend home down the freeway. She accidentally swerved into her friend's car and ended up putting them both in critical condition. After saving both their lives, one of the nurses slightly moved one of the patients causing one of her vertebrae to shift ever so slightly, which ended up causing critical spinal damage and eventual paralysis.
In this story it is pretty obvious that the nurse who moved the patient should have been held liable correct? Well, the tort lawyers thought otherwise once they found out the nurse did not have malpractice insurance and she was living paycheck to paycheck so instead they decided to go after the hospital and the other doctors. The thing is, they didn't know which doctors saw her in the ER so they sued EVERY DOCTOR IN THE HOSPITAL and made each doctor prove they did not participate in the treatment. Those that couldn't provide solid proof of non-participation (even though they didn't participate) settled out of court to avoid the hassle, so did the hospital. In the end, both the hospital and most of the doctors who work there settled out of court and this girl's family walked away with hundreds of thousands of dollars (I think around $650,000) and not a single doctor that was sued was actually involved in the treatment!
Medical tort reform has ALWAYS been a big issue for me due to my obvious family ties to the issue, and was a major factor in my not supporting the Obama ticket because of his disbelief in tort reform.
If there is no tort reform in this country doctors will eventually close up shop because they either cannot afford to stay in business or they will eventually make more money waiting tables.
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11-22-2008, 02:23 AM #5
I completely understand that and agree...but the frivolous, egregious lawsuits are a part of every industry now. Honestly, I'm not familiar with tort reform, it may apply to lawsuits in general and not just medical, but these lawsuits in every industry are raising the cost of living for everyone who's not getting the undeserved paycheck from them.
It's just another example of people wanting something for nothing and expecting other people (consumers and taxpayers) to pay for it. That's what this country is all about now...that's why we're well on our way to becoming a socialist country.
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11-22-2008, 02:35 AM #6
Oh I completely agree that egregious lawsuits are causing problems in EVERY sector, not just medical. I just focused more on the medical aspect due to the thread topic and also because I actually knew some first-hand knowledge about it without getting it from FoxNews.com or Moveon.org.
Speaking from my own career path, as a law enforcement agent, you can only imagine the number of suits brought against us on daily basis.
Amazing really.
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11-22-2008, 02:52 AM #7
Health care will continue to be a problem with Obama, it's just a matter if the policy he sets will be better than the current structure.
Side note: 49% said they would consider leaving medicine. Your proclaiming they would leave medicine. The two are very different.
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11-22-2008, 10:20 AM #8
Yes but what he is going to have to consider is that his plan is going to have to be good for both patients AND doctors. You can have all the insured patients you want but it doesn't do a whole lot of good if there aren't any doctors to see them.
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11-22-2008, 12:35 PM #9
Looking at the overall picture how would you take care of the uninsured? I see the argument being made that many do not pay, which is true, but still the fact that an individual is not insured should not preclude him/her from medical attention.
And on the example given for malpractice, who should have been held responsible? Obviously the nurse is unable to pay, but I feel the hospital should be j held accountable as her employer. As for the attending physian, were there not records of who was on duty that night?
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11-22-2008, 01:57 PM #10
I feel if we have this health plan where everyone in America gets insurance, the insurance probably will not be very good. To some it'll be better than what they had, but to others, who had good insurance before, it will be a downgrade. Which I dont think is fair, I think you should decide how much insurance you get. It seems to me that the medical system will soon turn into the education system, a bunch of crap.
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Originally Posted by Rockman 
