Right, after 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school and 6 years of specialization. Every experienced nurse will spit in your face if she had to work for $50k.
There lies a big part of the problem, for the doctors to maintain their high income they have to go through more patients than good health practices would dictate. The most successful doctors are many times the worst doctors. A doctor who sees 50 patients a day cannot give the same quality of service as the doctor who sees 25 patients a day yet he makes twice as much for being an inferior doctor.
Lawyers shouldn't make as much as doctors. For the most part, lawyers are a total drain on our economy. I have seen first hand, small business totally drained due to frivolous law suits. In fact, I would definately say that lawyers are more to blame for the high cost of medicine than doctors incomes are. At least doctors are providing a worth while service. Lawyers are just sucking the blood out of the economy.
I agree to some extent, but how to fix it?? Cut their patient loads in half and do you think medical costs would go up or down?
Here is the point.... http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/108045.php Notice ...the word is medical liabilities....not garbage collectors... .................................................................................. So....the amount of money that is involved in medicine is mind boggling......and the US cannot afford it..... So now what ? Here is a simple way of looking at it...... What is the actual cost of a visit....this is without insurance costs, and all other nuances.....what is the real bare bones cost.... What % of a visit is due to government regulations, law suits, equipments costs, building costs...etc.... So...what percent of the total could be stripped out.....without actually affecting a simple patient visit ? .................................................................................. Just why is it that the label has to be medicine and not something else in the unfunded liability article....? ................................................................................... Why is it that MDs have the nicest houses, country clubs, etc..etc... is this not money ????? Personally....I believe that the removal of legal largesse would go a long way.....and having larger numbers of doctors would go a long way......Better hours.....good pay......more reasonable all around..... ..................................................... There are lots of articles on the web relating to how the AMA restricts the number of doctors as well....and how they go about it...just put in a few words in Google........you will find them all day long.... http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-03-02-doctor-shortage_x.htm
Averages for a sample of specialties in my city (Kansas City): Family Practice- $162k Plastic Surgeon- $325k Cardiologist- $288k http://www.salary.com/
Don't know for sure how to fix it, but it's not my job to fix it either so I haven't put too much brain work into what to do. The success ones see too many patients a day. The high number of patients they see may have a bearing on the lawsuits. My personal experience with doctors have generally been not satisfactory with the rich ones and very satisfactory with the middle class earning doctors.
"doctoring" is big bis not a charity, in case you don't know docs become docs to make a lot of money, prestige and drive very nice cars.
almost all health care costs occur at the end of one's life... no wonder doctors and hospitals are against the "right to die"...