Gender politics aside, let’s talk about why the way doctors get paid matters to you as a patient. Female physicians don’t just get paid less because they prioritize their families, they get paid less because they prioritize patients. In the fee-for-service model, doctors are paid per patient visit, so the more patients they see, the more they get paid. This means that the worst doctors are paid the most. Health care administrators love “productive” doctors who see 40 to 50 patients per day in 5 to 10 minute visits. These doctors make a ton of money rolling patients through the assembly line, and they produce even more money downstream with all of their referrals and tests and frequent return visits since their patients’ problems are never adequately addressed. One local hospital group times all patient visits, and any physician who spends longer than 15 minutes with a patient is reprimanded. The best physicians are literally punished for prioritizing patient care over profits.
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