For those of us who are in the business of helping doctors build their practices, we often times have to be very careful not to use the dreaded word “Business” or “Marketing”. This may sound crazy to outside observers, since healthcare is 16% of the United State’s economy and threatens to bankrupt the country. Why is it that doctors don’t want to think of themselves as being in “business”. Much, I’m sure, comes from their training and oaths taken to put the patient first above all. Think of this though. Doesn’t every business have to balance their clients service and satisfaction with the survival of their business? If the healthcare economy risks bankrupting the country, and physicians are on the front line of it, it’s probably time he realize that it’s a business as well as a practice. Just as physicians have a moral responsibility to serve their patients, they have a moral responsibility to ensure that they do their part in helping 16% of our economy to work efficiently.
What do you think? We’d like to hear from you on this subject.
1 Comment
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Monday, 02 May 2011
posted by
C. A. Carraway, DC DIBCN CLS
I know it may sound cold to some but health care and practicing health care is a business. And a competitive one at that. Just open the yellow pages and ready the ads. Health care, all be it a noble business, has all the earmarks of a business. Being a school teacher may not be considered a "business" but being a doctor is a business.
Doctoring is the only profession that I can think of right now where you only option is to do everything perfect everytime. Opps is not allowed or accepted as an explaination for something going poorly.
Not calling the health care industry as business reminds me of the time I asked patient of mine who was the head of the local NPR station. "How much does it cost to advertise on the Piano Masters Program?" She was very quick to correct me that, at NPR they did not sell advertising, but I could sponsor a program. I pointed out that for a fee, they would mention my busines|||||/||p||r||a||t||i||c||e|| ||a||n||d say some nice things that I wrote for them to say about it, in a prescribed time slot...just like a commercial radio station does for advertising. But we would have to call it a sponsorship?
Exactly she said with a grin.
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