Comments on: "There is very little incentive for most physicians to control costs" http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most.html medical blog Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:35:28 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Criminallopath http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most.html/comment-page-1#comment-83383 Criminallopath Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:15:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most-physicians-to-control-costs.html#comment-83383 You only get liability protection once the general market is protected from your colleagues that involve themselves in the litigation market with post hoc ergo propter hoc claims of causation. As far as forced participation goes... I am against it. Scrap medicare and its horrific state level spawns. Give the money back to the tax payers. You only get liability protection once the general market is protected from your colleagues that involve themselves in the litigation market with post hoc ergo propter hoc claims of causation. As far as forced participation goes… I am against it. Scrap medicare and its horrific state level spawns. Give the money back to the tax payers.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most.html/comment-page-1#comment-83372 Anonymous Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:39:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most-physicians-to-control-costs.html#comment-83372 Criminallopath,<br/><br/>I wouldn't complain if the insurance companies or tax payers would take over the liability of a patient not getting a necessary CT scan. Criminallopath,

I wouldn’t complain if the insurance companies or tax payers would take over the liability of a patient not getting a necessary CT scan.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most.html/comment-page-1#comment-83371 Anonymous Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:18:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most-physicians-to-control-costs.html#comment-83371 Hey crim,<br/><br/>OK--so long as they are the ones who pay the judgement when they deny the recommended medication or treatment and there is a bad outcome. And so long as I have the right to contract with them or not.<br/><br/>Jimmy Hey crim,

OK–so long as they are the ones who pay the judgement when they deny the recommended medication or treatment and there is a bad outcome. And so long as I have the right to contract with them or not.

Jimmy

]]> By: Criminallopath http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most.html/comment-page-1#comment-83363 Criminallopath Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:35:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most-physicians-to-control-costs.html#comment-83363 Great. So no more complaints then when a third party payer such as an insurance company or the tax payers via their selected officials put some cost controlling measures in place. Right... Great. So no more complaints then when a third party payer such as an insurance company or the tax payers via their selected officials put some cost controlling measures in place. Right…

]]> By: Old-fashioned http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most.html/comment-page-1#comment-83362 Old-fashioned Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:07:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/02/there-is-very-little-incentive-for-most-physicians-to-control-costs.html#comment-83362 Exactly. Physicians should not be in the business of containing costs, it is not your job to do this. You are not an insurer, you are not the patient's pocketbook. Keeping yourself in the black is an issue, but it is not your job to contain costs nor should it be.<br/><br/>Your concerns should, in fact, be elsewhere...keeping abreast of medical issues, keeping skills and ethics honed, using the appropriate standard of care in diagnosis and treatment of illness. Where cost saving measures matter, your job is to guide a patient in the array of choices and fully inform about what cost saving does or doesn't mean in terms of patient outcome.<br/><br/>I don't know where physicians got the idea that they are supposed to sacrifice the few for the sake of the herd, except that third parties to the doctor patient relationship have importuned them to be a gatekeeper of cost. Exactly. Physicians should not be in the business of containing costs, it is not your job to do this. You are not an insurer, you are not the patient’s pocketbook. Keeping yourself in the black is an issue, but it is not your job to contain costs nor should it be.

Your concerns should, in fact, be elsewhere…keeping abreast of medical issues, keeping skills and ethics honed, using the appropriate standard of care in diagnosis and treatment of illness. Where cost saving measures matter, your job is to guide a patient in the array of choices and fully inform about what cost saving does or doesn’t mean in terms of patient outcome.

I don’t know where physicians got the idea that they are supposed to sacrifice the few for the sake of the herd, except that third parties to the doctor patient relationship have importuned them to be a gatekeeper of cost.

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