A recent debate on Medscape.com brought up an interesting topic – should doctors care about money?  There are many people who believe that doctors make a lot of money already and that people in jobs that care for others shouldn’t be concerned about how much they make.  Patients don’t want to think their doctor is in it for the money and doesn’t have their well-being as his or her top priority. 

But realistically,many doctors struggle financially, especially family practice docs and primary care givers.  There are some specialities that do make lots of money, but unfortunately so many people want to go into those specialities that there isn’t a need for them as much as there is for general practice doctors.  So those that do go into those needed areas find themselves struggling with expensive school bills, costs of setting up a business, and less income than perhaps they had imagined.

And of course your doctor cares about you, but let’s be realistic – doctors have families and lives to support so they are obviously going to care about their bottom line.  Doctors often work very late hours and have very little time for other pursuits – and they should be compensated accordingly.  And the work is difficult, risky, and emotionally draining.  Not to mention the constant fear of lawsuits and the cost of insurance and legal protection.  And many doctors are really small business owners, having to cover payroll, business expenses, rent, utilities, etc.

So yes, doctors should care about the money they make.  Should they care about it more than they care for their patients?  Of course not, but most doctors don’t.  It’s finding that balance that we all can live with and that’s fair to everyone – that’s where the challenge really lies.

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