Sunday, October 30, 2005

Boutique Doctors

A new breed of doctors have emerged in USA. Concierge or Boutique doctors in exchange for a cash retainer payment are offering personalized medical services.

So what's wrong with this. Nothing on the face of it. It's like a rich man's country club. Those who can afford pay the annual fees, say $ 1650/00 a year do not have to wait in long queues and they can see a whole lot of difference in how they are attended to.

The regulators are worried that this is creating a two-tier system of medicine. Professional and ethical arguements are being debated on whether doctors in giving this preferential care are violating the unwritten medical code of sharing the profession's duties equitably.

Well, if doctors pursue this to the extent of providing the best service to the highest paying clients, Hippocrates will surely turn in his grave. While this extreme is far fetched, an unregulated self-serving interest mentality can perhaps create more problems than the benifits it can deliver.

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