Doctors Aren't Burned Out From Overwork. We're Demoralized by Our Health System.

[applegrove]

Doctors Aren’t Burned Out From Overwork. We’re Demoralized by Our Health System.
Feb. 5, 2023
5 MIN READ

By Eric Reinhart

Dr. Reinhart is political anthropologist and physician at Northwestern University.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/05/opinion/doctors-universal-health-care.html

"SNIP.......

Doctors have long diagnosed many of our sickest patients with “demoralization syndrome,” a condition commonly associated with terminal illness that’s characterized by a sense of helplessness and loss of purpose. American physicians are now increasingly suffering from a similar condition, except our demoralization is not a reaction to a medical condition, but rather to the diseased systems for which we work.

The United States is the only large high-income nation that doesn’t provide universal health care‌ to its citizens. Instead, it maintains a lucrative system of for-profit medicine. For decades, ‌at least tens of thousands of preventable deaths have occurred each year because health care here is so expensive.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the consequences of this policy choice have intensified. One study estimates at least 338,000 Covid deaths in the United States could have been prevented by universal health care. In the wake of this generational catastrophe, many health care workers have been left shaken.

“For me, doctoring in a broken place required a sustaining belief that the place would become less broken as a result of my efforts,” wrote Dr. Rachael Bedard about her decision to quit her job at New York City’s Rikers Island prison complex during the pandemic. “I couldn’t sustain that belief any longer.”‌

........SNIP"

[ck4829]

1. K&R

[Hekate]

2. KnR

[RKP5637]

3. Yet people in the US vote in politicians that keep it that way, and then the same voters are

stunned by how much their healthcare costs. Ignorance sadly abounds in the US and propaganda works well. Had some old guy tell me recently he had to vote for Trump 2024 to keep the socialists from seizing the US. A total WTF. I said nothing, as it's an argument with no future.

[Native]

4. Made a No Paywall link to full article:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230205210352/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/05/opinion/doctors-universal-health-care.html

[IcyPeas]

5. but doctors like their paychecks. under universal healthcare like the NHS doctors don't make as much

[applegrove]

6. I was in hospital in Ottawa for a few weeks. I went for walks outside

where jags and other fine cars were parked. Lots of them. The Doctors are doing fine in Ottawa.

[IronLionZion]

7. A lot of doctors in the US are immigrants or on visas

Americans don't want these high paychecks?

[lonely bird]

8. No, period.

Doctors are employees of the NHS. They are not in, say, Canada or other countries with systems far better than ours.

[yardwork]

13. Many U.S. doctors don't make that much.

Many pediatricians and family physicians, for instance, struggle to maintain profitable practices that can pay them reasonable salaries. It's only the highly reimbursed specialties that pay so well.

[OldBaldy1701E]

19. Which is why it is becoming more and more impossible to find a G.P. anymore!

They are all turning to specialization. Hell, my 'family physician' cannot even treat a hangnail without referring me to three other people.

[yardwork]

20. Honestly, our health care system is deeply messed up.

[TexasBushwhacker]

15. Doctor's in the UK probably don't graduate from medical school

With $200K in student loans either. More and more of our primary care providers in the US are immigrants, because a practicing PCP in the US can rarely make enough to pay off their crushing student loan debt.

[republianmushroom]

9. Yep

[Paper Roses]

10. I have 2 MD's in my family. Both are burned out. Exhausted!

They work all day then come home and work on all the paperwork required for their practice.
7 AM to bedtime, it rarely ends.
They don't blame the patients, both say it is the system.
Neither are my Doc's, they don't treat family members. When we chat on the phone, I can hear the exhaustion in their voices.

So much for a great career. Both can't wait to retire.

[c-rational]

11. If onlly our media would shine a light on these facts. I guess I shoujld hope for more iiinfo on

McGonigal characterr frothe SDNY.

[3Hotdogs]

12. I had a nephrologist appointment on Thursday. Monday I gets a call from the office -- LARGE

corporate business. They changed the appointment to tomorrow because Thursdays are for 30 minute appointments. You're only allowed 15 minutes. So, Monday it is for you.


This is a corporation that is taking over multiple practices in N.J.

they bought out the practice where my step-daughter worked as a nurse practitioner. She quit after one month and went to a private pediatric practice.

[Aristus]

14. Speak for yourself, Doctor. I'm both.

I had go down to 4 days a week, 0.8FTE just to avoid burnout from huge productivity expectations. My income took a hit as a result, but it was either that or be a well-paid full-time zombie. But the flaws in our health system are definitely awful. I spend hours each day before clinic starts filling out prior authorizations requested by medical insurers for medications my patients need but their insurance won't pay for. Despite my best efforts to encourage my patients to come to the clinic for dedicated primary care, I still have a lot of patients who go to the area's emergency rooms for primary care issues. This leads to millions of dollars-worth of uncompensated care, which the hospitals write off and pass on to the taxpayer.

I have opioid addicts coming to me for highly-addictive medications because their previous providers focused only on treating the symptom (pain) without ever addressing the underlying causes and treating appropriately (physical therapy, orthopaedic care, etc.)

I have undocumented immigrants whose employers will exploit their labor, but won't pay a decent wage and definitely won't spring for medical insurance. I have to scramble to find charity care for agricultural and construction workers who are working themselves to death in high risk, debilitating jobs.

The sheer irony in all this is, we taxpayers are paying huge costs for private, for-profit medical organizations, uncompensated care, damages due to incompetence, malpractice, medical insurance fraud. We would almost undoubtedly pay less in taxes if we had a national health insurance program.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

21. We could do better for patients and medical professionals...

[Initech]

16. Reckless conservative policies killed American health care.

But of course our right wing propagandist overlords don't want you to know that.

[PCIntern]

17. As a 44 year member of the profession

I can state unequivocally that the professions of health care are broken, nearly beyond repair, without a revolution in business model, concepts, and instruction. There is an unnecessary spike in morbidity and mortality due to inappropriate and often iatrogenic care.

[Ron Green]

18. A single risk pool is a health care system. Multiple risk pools is an investment scheme.

We have enough investment schemes in this country; we need a health care system.