Business of medicine.

Abstract

As has often been said, people get set in their ways of thinking, living and believing until they are unable to see situations in ways other than what they are used to. Their brains just refuse to change its paradigm of thinking. For me, I have always thought of business in a certain way. Firstly, I was never really exposed to the concept of business, going as far back as I can remember. My father always reminded me that you should devote yourself to helping others for the overall good of society. So it should not come as a surprise that all my siblings work in the public service. When I started to work in the public sector serving a tertiary university hospital, the concept of pushing oneself for money or profit was considered " dirty " , even to the point of viewing such individuals as lower life forms! But over the last several years, while managing a department and pursuing an MBA, one question has been popping up in my mind: " What business are doctors in? " Is it about treating patients to help them recover from whatever ails them, no matter the cost to the society at large? Or is it about providing a patient a limb prosthesis even though he or she cannot afford to pay for it? What about keeping the public healthy first so they do not get sick, and saving all that money and technology? Are we not supposed to provide parking bays for our patients so they will not be driving around in circles while we literally drive into our offices? Is it about protecting one's discipline against the onslaught of the invaders? Is it about living in our little silos which, incidentally, were artificially created for an era long gone by? Is it about the need to ensure the maximum amount of resources no matter how it is used? Is it about being the first to get all the fancy high-tech gadgets and equipment? Is it about meeting all the performance targets set by the hospital or health authority? Should the insurance industry set guidelines for patients who need treatment? Should the vendors of imaging equipment and drugs be allowed to promote their products only with limited indications? Are they also acting ethically when they lobby the governments to pay for some of these new choices? If all these questions …