Besides the high salary figures of specialists, their extra years of study in a specific field raise their social status because society attributes prestige to those with more knowledge. It is true that specialists partake in extensive studies beyond medical school, but this only adds to our biased perception of tertiary care. As patients, we are frequently governed by what society has to say. But according to Tom Lindstrom, a quadriplegic and post-burn outpatient at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley, specialists should be given no more clout than general practitioners. It is wrong for us to place the specialists above the primary care physicians.
Society often overlooks the position of a general practitioner.
We sometimes forget that family doctors, are the ones who refer patients to specialists. In some cases, specialists will not treat patients who have not been previously referred. Therefore, family doctors compliment the role of the specialist. As American health care progresses toward the next century, the status of the economy begins to influence our perception of primary care. We are currently facing a massive low-income society with layoffs.