In 1954, seven doctors joined the medical staff, bringing the total to 58 compared with 142 doctors on the staff today. And the staff overall has quadrupled to 1,200 today. They both happen at an ever-increasing rate of speed. Nobody denies it. Health care today for doctors and hospitals is big business.
People worry that the business aspect of medicine threatens to overpower the human element.
That s evident when an employer changes the company s health provider forcing the employees to switch doctors. And when a practice grows, forcing patients to see whichever doctor is on call, loosening the personal relationship between patient and doctor that has always been considered a part of the healing profession. The business element shows up again when doctors have to check with insurance companies about what is covered before they order medicine or tests. And when doctors and hospitals have to ask for insurance cards before they send patients back to examination rooms. Some doctors and patients still can t comprehend today s voice mail systems, which routinely take calls in a doctor s office.