Author: Sandeep Jauhar
Dr. Jauhar is no ordinary cardiologist. He is the Director of the Heart Failure Program at Long Island Jewish Medical center. Yet he is struggling to make ends meet in New York City. This book describes his many trials and tribulations. His complaints about the American Medical System are now common wisdom, but there are eye-popping statistics that Dr. Jauhar highlights in his book. Most patients in NYU Medical Center (which is probably typical for the United States) spend approximately 30 days of their last 6 months hospitalized. This comes at an obviously high cost that drives up all of of our medical bills. Thanks to the increased number of patients each doctor handles and the paperwork that health insurance companies insist on, the amount of hours a doctor ends up working has drastically increased. However, according to Dr. Jauhar, the average doctor’s salary has reduced from $185,000 per annum in 1970 to $161,000 in 2010 (adjusted for inflation). Factoring the amount of hours doctors put in, this nets to about $6 an hour, which is well below the minimum wage in the US!
Dr. Jauhar describes his own struggle to earn enough money, and how doctors typically work the system to augment their income. He is extremely candid in the portrayals of his family and the pressure that he feels both directly and indirectly to earn more money. He starts moonlighting for another cardiologist and you can make out from his narrative that his heart was really not in it. You get a first hand view of how today’s doctors are incentivized to order a battery of tests to aid in their diagnosis. Read this and you will have a better appreciation for your doctor.
Dr. Jauhar is no ordinary cardiologist. He is the Director of the Heart Failure Program at Long Island Jewish Medical center. Yet he is struggling to make ends meet in New York City. This book describes his many trials and tribulations. His complaints about the American Medical System are now common wisdom, but there are eye-popping statistics that Dr. Jauhar highlights in his book. Most patients in NYU Medical Center (which is probably typical for the United States) spend approximately 30 days of their last 6 months hospitalized. This comes at an obviously high cost that drives up all of of our medical bills. Thanks to the increased number of patients each doctor handles and the paperwork that health insurance companies insist on, the amount of hours a doctor ends up working has drastically increased. However, according to Dr. Jauhar, the average doctor’s salary has reduced from $185,000 per annum in 1970 to $161,000 in 2010 (adjusted for inflation). Factoring the amount of hours doctors put in, this nets to about $6 an hour, which is well below the minimum wage in the US!
Dr. Jauhar describes his own struggle to earn enough money, and how doctors typically work the system to augment their income. He is extremely candid in the portrayals of his family and the pressure that he feels both directly and indirectly to earn more money. He starts moonlighting for another cardiologist and you can make out from his narrative that his heart was really not in it. You get a first hand view of how today’s doctors are incentivized to order a battery of tests to aid in their diagnosis. Read this and you will have a better appreciation for your doctor.
