G
General Veers
Guest
ST Forum
Home > ST Forum > Story
Jan 16, 2010
DOCTOR SHORTAGE
Get to root of problem
<!-- by line --> <!-- end by line --> AFTER a spate of scandals involving doctor aestheticians, Dr Lee Wei Ling cast light last Saturday on an aspect of medicine which is often ignored ('Heavy cost of pursuing beauty').
Do we truly have a shortage of doctors? The annual exodus to the private sector is anything but small. Many move onto an uneven playing field which is already overcrowded with many GPs who undercut each other while competing with subsidised polyclinics.
Doctors are not stupid. Why would they jump from an iron rice bowl into an overly saturated private sector where doctors turn to alternative revenue streams such as aesthetics? Here are my reasons why they jump ship:
Inappropriate use: Doctors spend their junior years and night calls on many menial tasks that require little cognitive function, mainly because there are insufficient qualified ancillary staff. Domino effect: Insufficient doctors in the public sector create a domino effect, resulting in an overly heavy workload, resignations and greater deficiency. The response so far has been to hire more new and overseas doctors instead of tackling the root of the problem and keeping our existing doctors.
Poor job satisfaction: Night calls, overbooked clinics and limited time with patients make for poor morale and a depressing job environment. The Ministry of Health has long expressed interest in collaborating with GPs. But efforts revolve around various programmes for chronic diseases which are often pretty on paper but difficult to implement realistically.
Suggestions such as rolling out subsidies to GPs or sharing bulk buying of medications with hospitals face some very real hurdles. The price differential often means patients seek subsidised treatment in already overcrowded clinics, even if they can well afford otherwise, but who can blame them?
We should review the situation instead of pursuing the old way of churning out more doctors and specialists. Improving the lot of public sector doctors and engaging the private sector could go a long way.
A lawyer friend of mine put things in rather stark perspective. Having spent upwards of $10,000 on some cosmetic procedures by a famous aesthetic GP she gushed about, she subsequently complained about having to spend $30 on a consultation by another GP to resolve a minor complication arising from the same procedures.
And we wonder why doctors do not practise medicine.
Dr Peter Chen
Home > ST Forum > Story
Jan 16, 2010
DOCTOR SHORTAGE
Get to root of problem
<!-- by line --> <!-- end by line --> AFTER a spate of scandals involving doctor aestheticians, Dr Lee Wei Ling cast light last Saturday on an aspect of medicine which is often ignored ('Heavy cost of pursuing beauty').
Do we truly have a shortage of doctors? The annual exodus to the private sector is anything but small. Many move onto an uneven playing field which is already overcrowded with many GPs who undercut each other while competing with subsidised polyclinics.
Doctors are not stupid. Why would they jump from an iron rice bowl into an overly saturated private sector where doctors turn to alternative revenue streams such as aesthetics? Here are my reasons why they jump ship:
Inappropriate use: Doctors spend their junior years and night calls on many menial tasks that require little cognitive function, mainly because there are insufficient qualified ancillary staff. Domino effect: Insufficient doctors in the public sector create a domino effect, resulting in an overly heavy workload, resignations and greater deficiency. The response so far has been to hire more new and overseas doctors instead of tackling the root of the problem and keeping our existing doctors.
Poor job satisfaction: Night calls, overbooked clinics and limited time with patients make for poor morale and a depressing job environment. The Ministry of Health has long expressed interest in collaborating with GPs. But efforts revolve around various programmes for chronic diseases which are often pretty on paper but difficult to implement realistically.
Suggestions such as rolling out subsidies to GPs or sharing bulk buying of medications with hospitals face some very real hurdles. The price differential often means patients seek subsidised treatment in already overcrowded clinics, even if they can well afford otherwise, but who can blame them?
We should review the situation instead of pursuing the old way of churning out more doctors and specialists. Improving the lot of public sector doctors and engaging the private sector could go a long way.
A lawyer friend of mine put things in rather stark perspective. Having spent upwards of $10,000 on some cosmetic procedures by a famous aesthetic GP she gushed about, she subsequently complained about having to spend $30 on a consultation by another GP to resolve a minor complication arising from the same procedures.
And we wonder why doctors do not practise medicine.
Dr Peter Chen
