So Aaron, I was trying to hear you out earlier, and assume that you’d just overlooked a few arguments…but seriously pointing to those statistics has lead me to question your analytical capabilities.

typical reimbursements are about 150 dollars per hour.

the reason why salaries are larger is becuase most docs work very long work weeks averaging well above 60 hours/week. also MD/DO training requires much more time and is much more costly than law training. I would think that salaries /hour worked would be a bit higher.

common sense i think

If “unfettered tort liability” means that 3% of the cost of medical care goes to litigation, and “fully fettered tort liability” reduces that figure to about 2.6% or at best 2.5% (using the projection of the Congressional Budget Office), I must say that it is quaint that you are up in arms about this issue, yet yawned at our host’s assertion that we shouldn’t worry about the 10-20% of medical costs which are wasted through unnecessary bureaucracy and inefficiency.

chris, you are quite obviously missing the boat. The point is not that all malpractice suits are meritorious (although reforms to date have rendered the truly frivolous suit a rarity) – the point is that present “tort reform” efforts are directed at the most meritorious cases with the most severe injuries. There really is no way to dispute that – at least with facts – which, I suppose, is why you didn’t present any.

ratrace – I just saw a medical bill with a doctor’s consultation billed at $450. That was for about five minutes of face time.

It is beyond dispute, ratrace, that on the whole doctors and surgeons earn salaries significantly in excess of those of lawyers. You’re complaining?

the managed care plans alter the economics to such a great degree that physicians alter all aspects of practice to reach economic viability. in short, we shorten legth of visits, we use midlevels, we spend less time educating…

patients get angry, lawyers become happier (plaintiff and defense)

then malpractice claims rise, awards mushroom, disenfranchised doc’s bend the truth as expert witnesses, welcome 21st century medicine.

then we see med mal practice premiums rise. we then argue the evil is in the trial lawyers.

yet all the time…the forces that shape our practices most fundamentally are ones that affect our economics. Just imagine if doc’s charged typical lawyer fees /hour of service (200-300/hr) we could see far less patients and spend plenty of time with patients. leave the office or Wards early enough to regularly practice in the free clinics (good Smaritan laws apply)

i would think lawsuit would decrease, our incomes would be the same, we would work at less frenzied pace..and ulimately the patient is happier. seems like http://www.simplecare.com has the right idea indeed.