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Obviously it's not sufficient to deter loads of malpractice lawsuits. My college roommate is now a physician, doing mostly internal med for geriatric patients. He told me he is sued an average of 3 times per year. Yes, that is a problem. But why is it that the manner in which he makes his decisions in his delivery of care are subject to so much dispute?
Why, because the lawyers run the country, of course.
Soto voce: I'm personally in favor of socialized legal services for everyone.
A GP in the UK working under contract with the NHS earns between 80,000 and 120,000 pounds, thats $165,000 to $248,000.
On top of that is their private practice....
To add, in the USA a family practice Doctor earns an average of $142,000....
Is family practice similar to a GP???
Yes
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Originally Posted by ParkTwain
A big problem among the medical profession is the ineffective QUALITY CONTROL scheme in place today. If the profession could make more clear to its members what are the proper standards of practice, there would be a lot less of a fuzzy basis for initiating lawsuits for malpractice. The doctors need to make their quality practices more transparent. Traditional doctors were accustomed to having a great deal of discretion in performing their services. That eventually got them into trouble in a world with so many lawyers.
In a sense, that is what insurance companies sometimes do. I know of a dr. who was questioned by the insurance co. when he treated a pt for strep when the rapid strep test was negative. He had to show that the test was sent to the lab and came back positive. Mind you, I'm not defending insurance companies. I have had my own issues with them and would prefer not to have to mess with them, personally or professionally.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown
So how come the hospitals don't have to release the infection information? MRSA is a big scare right now.
MRSA is a media hype right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bily4
And people wonder why medical students do not want to be family doctors anymore and why there is going to be an emerging crisis as America continues to age, with no primary care physicinas to attend them.
They have been saying this for the 35 yrs I've been in health care. It hasn't happened yet. Actually, many women physicians go into family practice these days, so that's a good thing.
Interesting how people think Doctors are paid more here in the USA when the fact is a GP in th UK would earn considerably more...and not have the malpractice insurance to pay.
Just some food for thought here with a little bit of personal experience. My dad just came back from a six week trip to Europe. Most of it was spent in England.
He cut out numerous articles that were in newspapers about an uproar in England over Americans going to England for treatment that they can't get here.
He discovered while in England that he needed to have a hernia operation. He had to go to a GP while in England who of course discovered the hernia. Incidentally, when he walked into the GP's office, the wait was so short he didn't even have to sit down. This was also my experience when I had flu like symptoms while traveling in England two years ago. He could have had the operation performed in England the following week but the doctor also said since he wasn't in an incredible amount of pain that he could wait until he got back to the States. My dad of course opted to wait since he didn't want to ruin the rest of his vactation. He has been home over two weeks and goes to the doctor tomorrow. He called the day after he got back and they initially didn't want to make the appointment until late december. He still doesn't have the surgery scheduled. Also, he had to wait in his doctor's office for almost an hour before he got in.
It is my understanding that some of the NHS is run locally. Local governments can determine how they want to spend their money. So some localities might opt to not offer an experimental drug, things like that. Doesn't sound much different from my insurance. Don't be fooled into thinking that your insurance covers any treatment currently available. A friend of mine is fighting with his insurance company as we speak because they are refusing to pay for blood transfusions which are literally keeping him alive. This man is 62 years old and has a form of blood cancer.
Statistically, more americans die waiting for treatment (insured as well as uninsured) than the Canadians and British. It is going to happen anywhere whether it is run by the government or the insurance industry. Some areas of the US, just as some areas of England and Canada, have a higher demand than supply of doctors. Earlier this year I had a scary looking mole. My family has a history of skin cancer so I was very concerned. I called close to 20 dermatologists in the area and the earliest anyone could see me was just over three months. Thank god it wasn't melanoma.
I can't believe that so many of you do not have faith in our government. Do you not have faith in our military? The rich pay more in taxes to support it. What about our public schools? Sure we have some bad ones but we also have some world class awesome ones and research suggests that they are getting better. Sure current universal healthcare systems have its faults and it will not be perfect but there is no reason why we can't come up with one as close to perfect as we can get. We are the grand ole' US after all.
Oh and one more thing. If money and taxes is your biggest concern, go ahead and crunch the numbers. Comparing to the NHS, we pay about 40% more per person than they do as it is. Remember we are paying for it anyway, we could very feasibly have better healthcare than what we have now for alot less. That means that only the top 5% of money earners would have to pay more. That is the Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey's of the world. Go ahead and ask them if they would mind payiing more to have a universal healthcare system.
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