An Egalitarian Culture [at the Mayo Clinic]The article goes on to say how the filthy socialists have significantly lower spending and excellent care, they value the patient over the revenue generated per procedure, thinking and taking care of patients is valued more than one's "revenue stream." Sphere: Related Content
You may have heard that at Mayo, doctors collaborate. But did you know that after their first five years all physicians within a single department are paid the same salary? During those first years, physicians receive "step raises" each year. After that, they top out ,and "he or she is paid just the same as someone who is internationally known and has been there for thirty years," says Patterson. ("Most could earn substantially more in private fee-for-service practice." he adds.)
“It doesn’t matter how much revenue you bring in,” Patterson explains, “or how many procedures you do. We’re all salaried staff—paid equally. This is very good for collegiality, and people working together,” he adds. “The culture here at Mayo doesn’t encourage egos. There is not the same cult of personality that you find at other places.”
At Columbia, by contrast, the pecking order is quite clear: even the furniture on the floor where a physician works tells him where he stands. “The floor we were on was perfectly fine,” Patterson recalls. “But if you walked up a few flights to ENT (ear nose and throat) surgery, it was a different world—dark wood paneling, different furniture… These surgeons bring in a much higher return for their time,” he points out, “and they do some things that require remarkable skill and training. At the same time, if a psychiatrist spends two hours with a patient, he may get $200, while all a dermatologist needs to do is get out the liquid nitrogen…”
The dermatologist can make $200 in a matter of minutes, just by zapping the harmless crusty brown patches on the back of a middle-aged patient commonly known as “barnacles of age.”
That celebrity turns on how much money a doctor brings in hardly unique to Columbia. “Traditional medical centers are much more hierarchical,” Patterson notes.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Those filthy commies at the Mayo Clinic...
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2 comments:
I appreciate your tongue-in-cheek reference to Mayo Clinic. I'm sure we have physicians and staff of most political persuasions, but as an institution we're what you would call a mixed economy. Physicians come to work here because they appreciate the balance of clinical practice, research and education, so while the economic perks may not be as great as in some private practices, there are other forms of compensation that factor into their decisions to come to Mayo and to stay here.
We believe fundamental health reform is needed, and have started a health policy center to help bring the patient perspective and an emphasis on quality to the discussion. We've involved stakeholders from throughout the health care industry, but we believe the focus has to be not just balancing the budget and controlling costs, but also simultaneously improving quality. You can learn more about our efforts at www.mayoclinic.org/healthpolicycenter.
Jane Jacobs
Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center
Thanks, Jane, for your comment.
I did go to the Policy Page. I've put up a new post on it, and you'll see my brief thoughts on it.
Keep up the good work, and I hope you'll look around my blog. It started out as a way for me to keep track of all the important information and references on single payer healthcare and 2 years later, I now have a nice repository of data for anyone who is interested.
Cheers,
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