Mamas Don't Let your Babies Grow Up to Be Doctors

During the high point of my career I was earning upwards of one million dollars a year and enjoying the fruits of my labor: big house, nice car, happy family and unlimited prospects. But thanks to government intervention, the rise of HMOs and hungry lawyers with their malpractice lawsuits (what I call the “three deadly diseases killing the American healthcare system today”), my enviable lifestyle began to crumble. Thanks to the first two, my salary started to nose-dive; thanks to the lawyers the cost of my malpractice insurance rose to astronomical heights ($360,000 in 1999 alone). In addition, the prestige and respect for my profession has dwindled and patient care has become of secondary importance to the bottom-line of HMO profits and reduced government spending. Clearly, the healthcare system is “sick” and in need of a good doctor; that’s why I wrote this book. At the end of each chapter, I make several pertinent suggestions as to how to change the healthcare system for the better, and what can be done to restore doctors to their rightful place in society. If things continue down this negative pathway, with no end in sight, I will be forced to give up my specialty – orthopedic surgery –just like many of my colleagues while we are still in the prime of our career: Not because of lack of patients, or lack of skill on my part, or unwillingness to learn and adapt, but simply because doctors such as myself are being squeezed out of the marketplace by increasing malpractice fees and the lowered salaries, paid by HMO’s and government health plans. How times have changed; my plumber, car mechanic and, for all I know, the bartender at the local pub, make as much, as I do; without the additional years of schooling, great sacrifices – including no personal life during medical school and residency – AND the $200,000 to $300,000 debt that medical students regularly incur during their eight years of school. I repeat, “Mamas, DON’T let your babies grow up to be doctors!” Despite the vicious downward cycle over the past 30 years, I still have tremendous regard for my profession and I still would not even consider going into any other field. Where else can you use your intellectual talents to directly help people who are suffering? In what other field can you receive the satisfaction of helping people get better – and get paid a salary for the privilege? In fact, my daughter recently became a doctor and I am recommending that my 8-year-old grandson, who is very bright and has shown an interest in math and science, become a doctor. So my passion for medicine is not only strong in my mind, but also burns in family members and friends. My goal is try to reverse the downward spiral and restore the respect and regard doctors deserve. That said, there have to be major changes in the system in order to continue to attract the most talented and smartest students as in the past. This book – and its symptoms, diagnoses and cures – is designed to illuminate the problems and suggest changes in order to make the right decisions for our country’s healthcare future.