The business of medicine isn’t really taught or discussed in medical school. They are so busy trying to make you into a good physician, that there’s barely time for anything else. A 1st year medical student probably studies more hours than most people work in a given week.
But, medical schools aren’t blameless.
Part of being a good physician is taking your time with a patient so you can do the best job you can.
15 minute appointments where half of that time is left for charting (charting = billing), leads to rushed visits and transactional relationships. In short, crappy care, even if the physician is world class. It’s not the physician, it’s the business model of delivery.
15 minute appointments where half of that time is left for charting (charting = billing), leads to rushed visits and transactional relationships. In short, crappy care, even if the physician is world class. Click To Tweet
By not teaching the business aspects of medicine, they are setting up future physicians to be cogs in the status quo, by just doing what they are told.
The mentality of “I just want to see patients, and have someone else do all of the business stuff” has gotten us into real trouble. We have abdicated our control of our practices and how we practice. This benefits the many middlemen who take money without adding anything to patient care.
At the very least, medical schools should educate their students on different types of practice business models, how to run them, and how to not lose their own autonomy as they move forward into practice.
