On Professional Fees and Principles

Conversations with non-medical (former) classmates about my (soon-to-be) profession are usually steered towards a discussion of specializations-- what I want, what they hope I'd be, and/or what they believe is most profitable (hence, I should consider). Sometimes, the people who nudge me towards profit are also those from whom I have heard constant grievances regarding outrageous hospital bills and medical fees. So I'm not quite sure what they're driving at. Are they condemning the system or are they encouraging me to be part of it? Perhaps both?

Personally, I think it's appalling how a doctor can bill you 4k (hospital expenses excluded) just for clearance for surgery, while all he really did was read your chart and talk to you for five minutes (nothing else, not even auscultation!) and he's not even the doctor who's going to operate on you. There are a lot of odd jobs out there that require more effort, more exertion of strength and endurance of harsh (sometimes even subhuman) conditions, yet the pay for a long day's hard labor won't even reach half of what the doctor charges per patient. Doesn't that seem unfair?

Sure, medical school costs so much-- not just financially, but also in all other aspects of life (we give up SOOOOO MUUUUCH of our lives just for training and a lot continue to do so even after)-- and correctly comprehending a patient's condition just through history-taking (a.k.a talking) is the ultimate display of superior skill and exquisite clinical eye. But something seems amiss.

I don't know whether the adjustment should be made in the medical profession, or in the rest of the world. Perhaps this setting in the medical field is the ideal, where people get enough compensation for the work they do. And if every other profession gets the same treatment, maybe it wouldn't feel so unfair.

But in reality, even in the medical field, there is a large disparity in compensation.

In the meantime, perhaps it would feel fairer to charge according to the effort that the doctor had to exert, or what the patient consulted for. The easier and more common the case, like colds and check ups, the cheaper. The more difficult and more complicated the case, like surgery or mystery diseases, the more expensive.

But personally, even such a set up doesn't feel right. It's like profiting from another's misery. Perhaps I would prefer a fixed salary. Or better yet, a self-sufficient interdependent community that does not run on money.