Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Should doctors be forbidden to complain about money?

Kevin Pho, MD
KevinMD
March 16, 2012
Share
Tweet
Share

The Patient Centered Medical Home is supposed to be the solution to our primary care woes.

Endorsed by both the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Physicians, this new model of primary care creates a team-based approach to patient care, with a cadre of care managers and nurses assisting physicians to manage patients with chronic disease. If the model is widely implemented, it would keep patients out of the hospital, save money, and divorce doctors from the dreaded fee for service payment system.

But getting from here to there is proving to be an arduous task.

The Wall Street Journal detailed one practice which made such a transition. Unfortunately, equipping today’s practices with the necessary technology and workflow changes is expensive. And the financial incentives meant to transform these practices barely makes up for the cost.

According to the piece,

For a five-doctor practice, the Advisory Board Co., a health-care research firm, projects the total first-year cost at between $126,000 and $346,500, including two added nurses.

The upshot: Doctors fear a squeeze as they try to ramp up changes in tandem with evolving reimbursement schemes. “You’re asking a practice that may be only marginally viable as a business to invest in significant infrastructure,” says Glen Stream, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. “Is the payment model going to be there to support that?”

Progressive-leaning pediatrician and health policy expert Aaron Carroll doesn’t like the slant of the piece, saying that in today’s recession-recovering economy, doctors shouldn’t complain about money:

Every time I see a piece in the media about doctors complaining about money, I cringe. What the article fails to mention is that the clinic is “struggling” because it’s also likely paying its physicians a nice six-figure salary. There seems to be this feeling that many (not all) doctors share that they are “entitled” to large salaries. Yes, they have a high cost of education, and yes, the years of training they had to go through is extreme. But still, when your nice six-figure salary becomes a slightly lower six-figure salary, you don’t get to go around complaining that you’re “struggling to make ends meet”. It’s sad for you. It’s going to make your lifestyle a little less awesome, likely. I’m not unsympathetic. But consider your audience.

Well, maybe. It’s true that physicians who plea that they “struggle to make ends meet” will be met by an unsympathetic public ear. But there’s a general public belief that most doctors are rich, drive luxury cars, and hang out at the golf course. In primary care especially, it’s a caricature that’s far from the truth.

Despite what Dr. Carroll calls a “sob story,” it’s still one that deserves to be told. The public shouldn’t be shielded from the real-world financial decisions facing today’s small, independent primary care practices. It’s the only way to puncture the myth of the “rich” doctor, which in primary care, is a slap in the face.

Kevin Pho is an internal medicine physician and on the Board of Contributors at USA Today. He is founder and editor of KevinMD.com, also on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.

Prev

Reflections on the Match: Improving the interview process

March 16, 2012 Kevin 0
…
Next

Complex, painful and expensive medical procedures at the end of life

March 16, 2012 Kevin 14
…

Tagged as: Primary Care, Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Reflections on the Match: Improving the interview process
Next Post >
Complex, painful and expensive medical procedures at the end of life

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Kevin Pho, MD

  • Surgeon General’s warning: the dark side of social media on children’s mental health

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Unmasking wage disparity in health care: the truth behind the Elmhurst Hospital physician strike

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Is FDA-approved Veozah a game-changer in menopause hot flash treatment?

    Kevin Pho, MD

More in KevinMD

  • The Spandex dilemma: Does size still matter?

    Janet L. Cray
  • Surgeon General’s warning: the dark side of social media on children’s mental health

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Unmasking wage disparity in health care: the truth behind the Elmhurst Hospital physician strike

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Is FDA-approved Veozah a game-changer in menopause hot flash treatment?

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Remembering Heather Armstrong: the tragic loss of the “Queen of Mommy Bloggers” sparks a global conversation on mental health

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Celebrating 2 million downloads of The Podcast by KevinMD!

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Eric Topol explores the science of super-agers and healthy aging [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why more doctors are leaving clinical practice and how it helps health care

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why regular exercise is the best prescription for lifelong health

      George F. Smith, MD | Conditions
    • When the weight won’t budge: the hidden physiology of grief, stress, and set point

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why starting with why can transform your medical practice

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 31 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Eric Topol explores the science of super-agers and healthy aging [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why more doctors are leaving clinical practice and how it helps health care

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why regular exercise is the best prescription for lifelong health

      George F. Smith, MD | Conditions
    • When the weight won’t budge: the hidden physiology of grief, stress, and set point

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why starting with why can transform your medical practice

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Should doctors be forbidden to complain about money?
31 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...