Posts tagged "Health Care Costs; Self Dealing; Conflict of Interest; Treatment Decisions"

As long as the physician deciding on the treatment for a patient's condition is also the one being paid to provide it, medicine will have an inherent conflict of interest that prevents patients from receiving the best care at an efficient price often increasing health care costs. While the self-interest of a car salesman is obvious to a potential buyer, the conflicting self-interests of the physician when recommending a course of treatment are not. The result is that treatment plan options are often presented based on the training and financial interests of the physician. As a result, patients often undergo treatments that fit the physician more than the patient. This has clinical and financial consequences. More efficient and patient centric care would result if the physician who provides the medical treatment advice not be the one paid for providing the recommended treatment. The question as to what treatment is best for the patient is a different question from what is the best treatment that this physician can provide for a patient.