So says this physician on why Florida gastroenterologists are leaving in droves:
None of the colleagues who I know makes $350,000 a year. At an average of a 60-hour work week for 48 weeks a year, that is about $100 an hour, or a little more than a plumber or electrician makes, but less than your average professional golf instructor makes. We still take emergency calls and treat the indigent.
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{ 22 comments }
What does the price of golf instruction if Flordia have to do with anything? Who cares how much they make? This has nothing to do with how much physicians are paid. If you want to say physicians there aren’t paid enough, fine, but how does comparing their reimbursement to an unrelated profession further your point? Golf instructors income is based on supply and demand and if there are more people wanting to learn to play golf in FL than there are instructors to teach them, then the rates they can charge will undoubtedly increase.
I think the article is trying to point to the absurdity that something so frivolous is paid at a higher rate. I believe the article would also like you to notice that there is an extreme demand for physicians just like golf pros, but physician salaries aren’t as high even though there is also an extreme shortage.
This article is making a fine point where the people that should get paid a lot don’t get paid anything. Those that live a life of frivolous and unimportant jobs are getting paid more than those that truly deserve it. But that’s how the US works (yes I am a US citizen), pay those that do our little job but those that do the big jobs don’t get paid anything. Cab drivers in Vegas make more than the doctors there easily.
“Cab drivers in Vegas make more than the doctors there easily.”
And they have the nerve to tell you what horrible tippers doctors are every time I go there to a convention!
“And they have the nerve to tell you what horrible tippers doctors are every time I go there to a convention!”
And also the nerve not to purchase health insurance and will “stiff” the ER everytime they visit.
“Cab drivers in Vegas make more than the doctors there easily.”
What a load of horseshit. The median salary for a Vegas physician is $161,000. Do you really think the median cab driver salary is that high?
Well, I just can hardly imagine any person expecting another to live on less than $350,000.00 per year. Aint it a shame?
As for cab drivers making more than physicians…That is laughable as well as stupid!
My GOD, do you not ever think any further than your wallet?
“My GOD, do you not ever think any further than your wallet?”
My GOD, do you not get the point of the article? And as if you don’t think about your own finances…
“My GOD, do you not ever think any further than your wallet?”
The speech of the leech.
“The speech of the leech.”
No reason to bring trial lawyers into this.
At least the plaintiff’s lawyers only get paid when they win. Physicians get paid no matter how poor a job they do. And they still bitch about how much they are paid.
Talk about leeches.
>>”Physicians get paid no matter how poor a job they do. And they still bitch about how much they are paid.”
And they get paid just as much when they do a great job, except when they don’t get paid at all.
Maybe we should leave the fee a doctor gets paid up to a 12 person jury. I can see it now, coronary bypass $1mil, renal transplant $750k…
Actually, the average jury verdict is $30,000. For med mal, it’s about $300K, but you only win one out of every four. I doubt you could afford it.
Facts are your friend.
“Physicians get paid no matter how poor a job they do. And they still bitch about how much they are paid.”
Don’t even assume every patient pays us. Docs get stiffed all the time. And let’s not forget the free care provided to patients in the hospital, which we’re required to provide. So, yeah, I’m gonna bitch about my lousy receipts.
What are your total receipts? And what did you bill and not contract to write down that was uncollected? (ie. a bill for $1000 that you agreed with the insurer ahead of time you would accept $200 doesn’t count.)
“Actually, the average jury verdict is $30,000. For med mal, it’s about $300K, but you only win one out of every four. I doubt you could afford it.”
OK. 25% of $300k is $75k. $75k for a CABG is reasonable, unfortunately Medicare reimburses only $1800!! I’ll take the $75k anyday.
“Facts are your friend.”
Actually, with jury based reimbursements, like the lawyers have, I would have to say jurors would be my best friend! Forget about the facts…
Charge what you think your service is worth. If people come and pay it. You should be happy no matter what the next guy is making in comparison.
If people will not pay it, you need to find something else to do.
“If people will not pay it, you need to find something else to do.”
Considering that most patients don’t even want to pay their copay, guess we’d end up with no docs at all.
The problm with all of these “well, that’s supply and demand” comments is that… it ISN’T supply and demand.
The reasons doctors make so little (for what they do) is that the government has gotten in the way. The gold instructors are free to charge what they want, but doctors aren’t. (Medicaid, Medicare, etc, effect the prices of things… greatly.)
So yeah, doctors are going to leave the profession, because they are smart, hard-working types (mostly) who could quit easily find another job that either pays more, takes less effort, or both.
If you are saying that it’s OK that they make less because of supply and demand, your own argument has just said it’s also OK for them to go find another job, so don’t complain whn they do.
That is because we trained people to think that way. I found that the very same people who would gladly pay $80 for dinner for two or an extra 2000 for a TV they don’t need would whine about an extra 5$ copay for their doctor visit. I then found that when I stopped going along with that devaluation of my services, quite accepting insurance discounts, and ran a quality on-time operation with the expectation of being paid properly for it, plenty of people showed up who wanted that and were willing to pay for it.
In fact I get less whining about 80$ cash visits now than I did about 20 dollar co-payments. In the latter case, people saw me as an extension of the insurance company which they had already paid, a utility to which they were entitled greedily squeezing a couple more dollars.
Now they see me as a professional with whom they have a private relationship charging a fee that is a reasonable rental of my 24 years of education and 20 years experience.
deoxy:
You are right except for one thing:
We don’t have to accept Medicare, Medicaid, or managed care contracts. I have made a firm commitment to providing my services in the context of privacy and economic freedom. When the market doesn’t support it or the law makes it illegal, I will leave medicine. So far, my patients love it. The ones that don’t, aren’t my patients–they go to someone who doesn’t have the professional pride to take risks for the sake of autonomy and optimal quality of care.
But I am not a big enough fool to feel entitled to make a living doing it my way. I keep my eye on options.
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