Dr. Monique Moreau posted a brilliant comment in response to someone accusing doctors about focussing too much on money. I just had to share it as a stand-alone post. You can find the original comment below the Doctors Under Siege post.
Dr. Moreau said:
I became a physician because I wanted to care for people in need of medical help. That is what I do and that is who I am.
Forgive me for wanting to be compensated for the work that I do at a fair level. OHIP does not cover everything that patients request or need; that is a reality.
Charging a fee for a note for massage therapy, which is required to be reimbursed by the patient’s insurer, is not an insured service under OHIP. That means that when a patient comes in strictly for a note to cover massage and meet insurance requirements, I am not permitted to bill OHIP for that service. That is why I must bill the patient, because I have to be paid, so I in turn can pay my bills.
I am a physician. I am not mercenary. I do bill less or not at all when the circumstances dictate; I do have a heart but I have to support my family.
Those who say it’s all about the money are generally in salaried positions and do not understand the fee for service model. The plumber who provides services to my office charges more per hour than I make.
I am not asking for more money.
At the same time, I reject the responsibility bestowed upon me for health care cost containment while maintaining responsibility for the safe keeping of my patient’s health.
Who should decide if Mrs. X should have an MRI of her knee because it is still sore six weeks after a minor injury and she insists on knowing what is going on inside her knee, and the orthopedic surgeon she insists on seeing will not accept a referral until she has an MRI?
I am not perfect and I am not God.
I am tired of being held responsible for every mistake, limited in what help can assist me in caring for my patients, and made the scapegoat of a health care system that has lost the caring for its users and its providers.
Please read the excellent comments below by Dr. Gerry Goldlist, a specialist. His experience perfectly compliments Dr. Moreau’s above. We could add thousands of stories to these two.
Please share your own comments! Readers love comments the most. Thank you.
photo credit: everydaylife.globalpost.com
When I decided to go into Medicine in high school, I felt that this was how I could contribute my talents to our society. I did not plan to save the World but I wanted to altruistically contribute. At that time I thought that I would be able to contribute to my patients without ever having to think about money and just concentrate on doing the best job possible.
It took ten years in practice to get that altruistic notion kicked out of me by the media and the government. I took it personally that my profession was being maligned over and over again for being on a pedestal, making mistakes and other things including making too much money.
During the Doctors’ fight in 1986 to keep our fiscal independence and professional control out of the government’s hands I was cast down by the hostility of the Public toward my profession and, through my profession, me. That was soul searing and even worse for me. I will never get that out of my being.
I saw a colleague of mine have his picture in The Toronto Star and a large article articulating his greed for billing patients directly and not accepting payment from OHIP, This was the same colleague who offered to cancel half a day in his office to help me, a recent graduate, with emergency surgery on a child at our hospital. “Whatever is best for the patient” were his words. I can never forgive the newspaper for denigrating this fine gentleman and caring physician for being money hungry.
I now push back at those who try to scapegoat my profession as we try our best to help our patients, sometimes to the detriment of our own personal well being. I know a revered colleague who phoned patients from his hospital bed to apologize for not being able to do their cataract surgery the next day. Once they meet him, they appreciate what a great and caring doctor his but this same colleague of mine has been yelled at for having an office that is too busy. Just before his almost fatal heart attack years ago, I begged him to slow down. His answer was “I just can’t say ‘no’.”
And even now that I have decided to retire because I am just worn out, I will stop working over two years to help my patients find another doctor. By doing what I feel is the proper thing for my patients I have put myself after my patients. I would have retired two months ago when I decided that it was the best thing for ME to do for ME.
As my physician colleagues have done, I started to study like hell, doing 2 hours every night after school, so that I could learn what I needed to be a good physician. I started this regimen of study and review in grade 11. Yes, grade 11. As I slow down and see the end of my professional career, the obsession with keeping up with my craft is a burden I feel lifting.
Many physicians feel as I do. Most don’t voice it as I have. With the Health Care System failing patients and physicians in Ontario, and as more and more altruistic and exhausted physicians retire, get sick or die, my advice to the people of Ontario is: Don’t Get Sick.
Unbelievable, Gerry!
Well written, thoughtful, heartfelt and it perfectly compliments Dr. Moreau’s comments. I added a bolded note at the bottom of the post to direct readers to your note. It really deserves its own post again! This is crazy…you guys are developing far better content than I could dream up…this is fantastic!
Thanks so much for taking time to read and share such thoughtful, well-written reflections.
Highest regards,
Shawn
Thanks you so much Dr. Whatley for sharing your views on this site. The treatment of doctors and nurses by the so called healthcare system we serve is so often destructive and objectionable. The above articles are excellent examples! Please keep up your contribution and truthful insights.
Thank you for taking time to share such a supportive note, Jean. So often, we only hear from those who passionately disagree.
I know readers will appreciate, as I do, that you took the time to read and share. These discussions will raise opinions we disagree with, but that helps too.
Best regards,
Shawn
PS Sorry it took two days to respond! I’ve been off the computer. Cheers