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I remember my grandparents taking us to the Ringling Bros. Circus at Madison Square Garden in New York and how difficult it was to keep track of all the action in the three rings at the same time. It reminds me of medicine today.
We cannot afford to dumb down our medical system by not attracting the best students in the country to become physicians. Should they go to Wall Street for better pay? Can these students afford to become physicians with the school loans they will have to pay off? They certainly will have a difficult time becoming a family doctor. A police sergeant or captain in our local police department makes more per hour than I do.
While money is not the only issue, the medical community must be financially strong to attract the best physicians. People expect miracles when they come to our emergency departments or offices. They expect doctors and hospitals to be available, to be well equipped and well trained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The medical community isn’t permitted to close. Our youngest, and not so young, continue to serve in the emergency rooms, where care is mandated, yet not funded. We serve the community regardless of its ability to pay. Physicians have always done that. Yet it is getting harder to give free care to the truly needy when reimbursements are not keeping up with costs of running a well equipped office or hospital.
It is important that we defend the quality of medicine our physicians and hospitals provide.
We have to persist in our efforts to keep quality in medicine. The government and insurance companies cannot expect to save money without changing unreasonable expectations. And we cannot easily cut back without tort reform.
We have to continue to be active at the local level, joining forces with hospitals. We have to be active in organized medicine at the state and national levels. The recent AMA controversy points out that other areas of the country are not Florida, and we need to join together to make sure our concerns are heard. We need to consider the expenses of political activity as an essential cost of running an office, not an extra unbudgeted burden.
We have to work with our hospitals to ensure quality care, that we are free from rules that don’t work and add extra stresses to our days, thus distracting us from patient care.
Too often, we have rules imposed upon us by agencies or by some think tank. I am never opposed to considering ways to be a better doctor. However, I recall hearing Richard DeVos, the founder of Amway and Orlando Magic owner, speak at a Bethesda Foundation reception. He said there are a few very important words in our language. “I was wrong.” and “I am sorry.” When is the last time any agency admitted that a rule that was a good idea hadn’t worked out and should be withdrawn? How many hospital employees are working on new standards or guidelines that haven’t worked?
We are considered one of the most admired professions, so why are we, as smart, well trained, well regarded physicians in this mess? Why do we train our young doctors to think and then tell them they can think only as long as they don’t violate the “guidelines”?
We need to be heard and we need to be heard by working together.
At a recent national hospital conference, we were told that our hospital lengths of stays are not out of line with world standards, and physicians are not overpaid based on our country’s GDP. So why is the physician salary the scapegoat to save money? And if you think “Obama care” is just a Democratic Party initiative, we were told it’s been in the works for over 7 years. Watch your back … corporate America wants to save money too.
When I needed spine surgery, I was very lucky to have an outstanding physician available to me, and a very well equipped hospital. Can you imagine the results if the surgeon and hospital had equipment and personnel that weren’t top notch?
We need to stay involved. Our “children” are our families and the young doctors who are in school today. We owe it to them to protect our profession. We need to keep our eyes on all three rings of this circus … and that means being involved.
