FHC #44: Diving deep into how we select and pay American doctors

Welcome to the new Fixing Healthcare series, “Diving Deep,” which features a robust and probing discussion about some of healthcare’s most deep-seated problems. With cohosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr, this series will be hard-hitting, honest and undoubtedly controversial.

In this episode, Pearl and Corr talk about two areas of medicine where the existing “rules” seem out of date. It begins with an up-close look at how medical schools and residency programs select future doctors, a process that quickly reveals itself as obsolete in the 21st century. That’s followed by an in-depth review of the current (and outdated) rule used to determine how doctors are paid.

For more information on these topics, check out Dr. Pearl’s latest healthcare columns on Forbes and LinkedIn.

For listeners interested in show notes, each episode of this series will feature a time-stamped discussion guide (as follows):

[01:00] Before we dive deep, what are the “unwritten rules” of healthcare?

[02:01] How do these rules impact doctors and patient care?

[03:52] What’s the rule for selecting and training future physicians?

[06:10] Why is this rule now obsolete?

[07:43] How do we break this rule and bring it into the 21st century?

[10:38] Next rule: What’s wrong with paying physicians this way?

[13:27] Diving deeper, how exactly do doctors get paid?

[15:04] Does this payment rule lead to physician burnout?

[17:23] After 90+ years, is it really possible to change the rule?

[21:08] What are the pros of a relationship-based payment model?

[21:58] Can we make docs happier and lower healthcare costs?

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Dr. Robert Pearl is the author of a book about medicine’s invisible yet highly influential physician culture. Check out “Uncaring: How Physician Culture Is Killing Doctors & Patients.” All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders.

Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post FHC #44: Diving deep into how we select and pay American doctors appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.