Survey after survey shows that a large percentage of doctors are unhappy with the practice of medicine. Results range anywhere from 40-70%. It is not the clinical side of medicine but rather the healthcare system itself, the red tape, the loss of control that troubles them.

How did it get this bad? It was a slow creep that eventually resulted in physicians selling their souls to the system. It all started when physicians allowed their pay to come from a third party, first the insurance companies, then the government. When it first began, it seemed like a good idea. Doctors could bill whatever they wanted and get paid in full. In the beginning, insurance companies worked a lot like auto insurance, patients would pay most of healthcare costs out of their pockets and insurance would pay the big bills.

In time it became clear that the system could not sustain itself. Physicians and hospitals did not realize how they were shooting themselves in the foot. They thought there was an endless pot of money to absorb their ever increasing billings. That was not the case. The solution to the increasing cost crisis was managed care. Here’s how it worked: play doctors off of one another, get them to accept discounted fees and give the patients an incentive to stay “in network”. That was the beginning of the end for doctors.

So here we are today. Doctors have surrendered control to the insurance companies, and now increasingly, to the government. The best they can do is beg congress to limit cuts in Medicare fees. The system is now so vast and consuming that most physicians feel there is no way out for them.

Yet, a small group of proactive doctors believe it doesn’t have to be that way. Physicians all over the country are finding ways to get back control of their professional lives. They are reshaping their practices to become more cash oriented, bringing back the doctor-patient relationship. There are lots of other ideas being tested.

We’d like to hear what you think. Are you standing by, allowing the system to absorb you even further or have you found a way to bring life back into your practice? We’d like to hear from you.