Doctor’s Diary December 16, 2019: Public trust

When those in responsible positions take money for personal benefit, public trust is threatened:

– Votes of elected politicians swayed by special interest dollars:
– drug manufacturers artificially setting high prices hurting those who rely on medication;
– or too-big-to-fail bank executives disrupting the economy yet never going to jail.

What if your doctor was given a “bonus” in return to decrease patient care? Wouldn’t you want to know if money is passed into their pocket at the detriment to your health?

Recently, a colleague informed me some physicians are receiving a bonus at their hospital in exchange to minimize care: Discharging patients prematurely when they are still ill; not consulting specialty experts; avoiding expensive testing; and pushing older adults into nursing homes or onto hospice.

One doctor received a quarterly bonus over $60,000! It doesn’t mean they compromised care, but it is likely they may have used hospital-learned business tactics to reduce care.

Could a large bonus reflect a physician is self-serving, and cares only about their own financial well-being?

We must have access to hospital bonus information to preserve the public trust.

Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.