Trade secrets

(Via FOXNews)

Reader’s Digestoffered two dozen doctors a chance to tell it like it really is, and general practitioners, surgeons, shrinks, pediatricians, and other specialists took the challenge. Some wanted to be anonymous; some didn’t care. But all of them revealed funny, frightening, and downright shocking things that can help you be a better, smarter patient.

What follow that paragraph isn’t funny, but it’s an interesting look into the minds of the people who take care of us when we’re sick. Two things really stood out for me.

The first was

Plan for a time when the bulk of your medical care will come from less committed doctors willing to work for much lower wages. Plan for a very impersonal and rushed visit during which the true nature of your problems will probably never be addressed and issues just under the surface will never be uncovered. —Vance Harris, MD

There you have it folks, from the horse’s mouth. Even our doctors are expecting to be outsourced or replaced by H1B visa holders who will work for half the pay.

The second was

In many ways, doctors are held to an unrealistic standard. We are never, ever allowed to make a mistake. I don’t know anybody who can live that way.–James Dillard, MD

Neither do I, but everyone who has ever had a doctor make a mistake, or sometimes simply disagreed with their doctor, thinks they have hit the medical malpractice lottery. Folks, the docs are human, and some of them work hours you’d never consider, in circumstances guaranteed to cause nightmares. They will make mistakes. Yeah, their mistakes can be fatal. So can an airline pilot’s, but I’ve never heard of them being require to carry insurance against it.