Comments on: Career decisions shed light on health care crisis solutions

By: Mark W.

Mark W. — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:46:44 +0000

There's a relatively small healthcare outfit in upstate NY (Cooperstown) named Bassett Healthcare (25 health clinics, 13 school-based clinics, 4 hospitals, and a nursing home) where costs are lower than 90 percent of the hospitals in NY while quality of care ranks among the top 10 percent in the nation. Bassett Healthcare controls their costs by paying their doctors by salary rather than a fee for service business model. They also employ what they call an integrated health care delivery where primary care physicians and specialists work together as a team for the patient. They are not for profit and their missions are to employ doctors, teach nursing students, and conduct research. There's a good New York Times article on them at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/health/policy/25doctors.html .

By: mysticaltyger

mysticaltyger — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:36:31 +0000

Thank you for saying this, Bob! I've been saying this forever but no one believes me!

By: Bill Mitchell

Bill Mitchell — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:35:30 +0000

Your perspective is a bit off base. First, the cost of education, esp. for attending a medical school is huge. And as you pointed out, the time spent in internship and residency add to the time, hence the expense, devoted to education. The preparation physicians devote in terms of time and money is balanced by significant incomes in most areas of medicine. But when you consider the amount of time spent in education before a physician is able to practice, along with the expense of education and the short life span many physicians enjoy, the return is not as significant as it may appear. Unfortunately, public perception plays an important role in determining incomes, often not valid. Your perception is that an attorney makes a larger income than a physician because of the less time spent in education. That is not true either because the majority of lawyers are not making that much income. What Americans need to do is study what really is happening in America rather than basing their opinions on past assumptions. We would all be better off.

By: William Frost

William Frost — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:49:12 +0000

I love my family Doctor. I actually feel bad for the guy as it seems like he is always working, and the job must be stressful dealing with people who are looking for help all day long. Especially the patients that are in pain and he just has to tell them he can only do so much.

He has shown up to see me in the hospital at 7am one time when I had a kidney stone, he works every other weekend. He must have had a ton of student loans he had to pay off, there is all the insurance and support staff that he pays, plus the paperwork nightmares.

I think some specialties can pull in some hefty dollars, but Ido not think the family physicians pull in their worth. All the healthcare money goes toward test that are required to prove everything possible was done in case a lawsuit erupts.

Will

By: Dentist Mesquite

Dentist Mesquite — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:17:13 +0000

All jobs requires dedication and hard work, but there are some jobs which can't be replaced with money or can't be equate with money. Like being a teacher, you work with this career because you think it's a fulfilling job. Some set aside the monetary value of it, but of course it is important as well in order to live. We just hope that government's decisions on revamping health care system is better than before, because this will help the citizens to have a privilege to maintain their healthy body.

By: reanna

reanna — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:28:47 +0000

Malcolm Gladwell's take on what teachers should be paid, and who should be accepted into med school. Teaching isn't altruism, it's a job we need done better.

http://www.gladwell.com/2008/2008_12_15_a_teacher.html

By: CJ

CJ — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:13:00 +0000

I was just thinking about this along another line. What happens when these schools output students that can't read or write? Do we give the kid back his 12 years?. I mean it's a profession and in some cases I would find that the administrators were criminally negligent. There is a lot of money which goes through these schools, and then we find out that the children were given a substandard education.
In my local area they found a number of teachers who couldn't pass a basic test on fundamentals of English and Mathematics, after 7 tries.

By: CJ

CJ — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:05:44 +0000

I used to date a hospital system executive and she told me that their biggest killer in the US wasn't mistakes by doctors, but was diseases contracted during patient stays.
I have also heard these same things said about Canadian hospitals and care. But when I asked about the conditions they were comparing, it turns out is was basic care in Canada to the yuppie suites they have here. Yeah, I like the yuppie suites, but if it doesn't make a difference in health care and giving them up is what would occur to allow healthcare for everyone, then I say goodbye to them.
As for your other comments, it's obvious that you are an ignorant bigot.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:00:35 +0000

I acknowledge that this is not the point of the article, but I have to say something about your reference to teaching. Teaching done right in some of our toughest districts is HARD and demands a lot of hours. You are right that teaching doesn't require a lot of education…this is a travesty and I think we are going to pay for it as a country.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:45:06 +0000

My previous comment was definitely anti-doctor-paycut, and I'm a liberal. You just invalidated your valid comment with your political generalization. Be careful.