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A crackdown on doctors' profits will help patients in the long-run by forcing the medical industry to reevaluate their practices. For decades doctors' fees have inflated and government programs such as Medicare have been overcharged by hospitals to cover the cost of treating the uninsured thus allowing private physicians to do the same. Without this fallback government spending will be more controlled and patients will not have doctors rushing them through simply for the charges. The medical industry has become a glamour industry of overpaid specialists, swanky waiting rooms in private practices, and questionable patient selection ethics. Anything that makes the people and the doctors question their motivations is a good thing.

I do think that a selective crackdown would be more beneficial. Private practices, specialties, and emergency hospitals are different creatures in regards to their patient base. I agree with counter arguments that doctors need to cover their overhead and service costs. However I do not believe that doctors need the exorbitant salaries that some of them receive while playing golf and taking vacations. There is an entire system overhaul that such a crackdown could initiate. Less profits would mean that less individuals would get in to the profession as "legacy" doctors, more of the medical school graduates would become doctors to help people instead of for the money, and more people would be able to afford care. The cost of medical school would have to go down to accommodate this shift, allowing for more capable and caring individuals to enter the profession. And finally malpractice insurance would have to be reevaluated since this is a large chunk of doctors' overhead currently.

Forcing patients through quickly is already occurring. Overcharging is already occurring. Even if Medicare doesn't crackdown on doctors' profits there are things patients can do to start the wheels of change turning. Understand that doctors are human. Lawsuits because a doctor was wrong about something can be avoided by getting second opinions. Malpractice should be saved for those who truly intended to hurt their patients or who display negligence. Eventually the insurance cost for practicing doctors will have to decrease or else the profession will become obsolete to the needs of the patient due to high fees. This is the same reason why profits should be closely investigated.

Learn more about this author, Alicia M Prater PhD.
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