LETTERS: PATIENTS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DOCTORS

To the editor:

After reading many doctor-related articles, I decided to throw in my two cents in this public controversy. The public seems to disregard the fact that doctors are no different than any other legitimate business. We live in a free country, and doctors are as free to do business as anyone else. As long as doctors provide good care to their clients in a professional manner, why should it be anyone's business how much money they make? If people don't like a doctor for whatever reason, including his fee, they should go to another one. Let market forces direct the choice of their doctor as well as the success of their doctor's practice. Why is not anyone complaining that Mr. K is opening a multimillion-dollar supermarket in Cape? Why did no one complain when Cine 14 opened a year ago? Where was everyone when Sams Club opened doors a couple of years ago? Why is it that no one gripes when vice presidents of health insurance companies draw millions in salaries annually? Yet when a group of hardworking doctors decide to open their own surgical center at their own expense, they have to put up with the hue and cry of the public. Obviously, doctors are measured by a different yardstick in every way. Now let me tell you how one aspect of this different expectation affects me as a doctor in private practice. People are no longer content with their doctor taking good care of their health problems. Now they want their doctors to manage their lives as well: "Call me to remind me of my appointment" (I am no longer responsible for my appointments). "I am having financial problems now. I will pay when I can" (Why don't you take some responsibility for my financial mess?). "I am too busy to keep my appointment. Just call in a prescription" (I want service for which I hold you responsible, but I don't want to pay you for it). "Transfer copies of all my records to so and so, but I can't pay for that service" (You can afford this cost of copying, mailing and handling since you seem to be rich). So on and so forth. More and more people want their doctors to take responsibility for the financial and other messes they have created in their own lives. The message? "You must be rich. You can afford it." We doctors have the same expenses as any other business: Rent, electricity, telephone, payroll, insurance, office supplies, mail and what have you. We too have the same responsibility of raising families, of paying for college tuition, of paying our daily bills. You don't walk into Walmart and say, "I can't afford to pay for this beef right now. I will pay for it when I can." Why, then, would people do that in a doctor's office? And why are so many people simply ignoring bills sent by their doctors once they get well? Why are so many people blaming their doctors for bills not paid by their own lousy health insurance carriers? The message is the same: You must be rich. You can afford it. From a health-care point of view, we are all -- the public as well as health-care providers -- going through some rough times. There is enough blame to go around. Under the circumstances, doctors should do, in a balanced way, whatever is in the best interest of their clients as well as themselves. There is no need for them to be apologetic about anything. Free market is still alive and well. Getting rich through hard work and innovation is not a crime in America. Certainly not yet. As for the public, instead of griping about doctors and their alleged greed, they should try to reduce their health-care cost by taking more responsibility for their personal and spending habits (Quit drinking, smoking, overeating, taking drugs, gambling, driving fast, overspending etc.). And don't go to doctors you think are not good for your physical, emotional and financial health. If you can get cheaper and better care elsewhere, go there. That is what free market is all about. That is what America is all about.

K. P. S. KAMATH, M.D.

Cape Girardeau