Nurses are Not Doctors
In a recent
editorial in the New York Times, a cardiologist noted that patients of
nurse practitioners had 25% more referrals to specialists and 41% more
hospital admissions.
He stated that he is concerned about the
trend of non-physicians providing primary care. I agree with the fact
that these providers lack the experience and expertise to properly
diagnose many potentially dangerous conditions. I still remember a
patient who came to me with a diagnosis of "mumps" from a pharmacy
clinic. Not only was it not mumps, but if she really thought it was that
she was obligated to report it - but she did not. It did turn pout to
be sarcoidosis.
However there is a shortage of primary care
doctors. I have tried to find part time work in Las Vegas, and have been
discouraged due to the high cost of part-time malpractice (I have never
been sued in 35 years of practice) forcing me to look for replacement
work only.
One comment to the article stated that if
specialists were paid less and primary care doctors more this would not
be an issue. I couldn't agree more. Why does 2-3 years additional
training mean a doctor can earn over 3 times (on average) more than
primary care. Many specialist routinely earn over $500,000!
New York Times Article
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