Is the Healthcare System Taking Advantage of Physicians?

Physicians learn a lot in medical school, but negotiating employment contracts is not on the curriculum. It’s often through word-of-mouth, group chats, and anonymous postings on Facebook and Reddit that physicians gain insight into what their peers are making.

At best, these salary findings can be affirming. But often, infuriating disparities emerge. At Offcall, we are working to build a platform for physicians to connect, share solutions and advocate for the changes needed within healthcare. Sign up here.

Dr. Jared Dashevsky is leading this fight as well through Healthcare Huddle, a newsletter he founded and writes that reaches over 30,000 healthcare professionals in which he offers clear explanations of complex healthcare trends as well as original commentary and analysis.

In a recent episode of How I Doctor, Dr. Graham Walker and Dr. Jared Dashevsky discuss the frustrating reality of being paid as a physician. Not only are RVU-based models difficult to understand, but the disparities in base-pay across hospital systems create confusion and angst among physicians. As a result, many physicians are in the dark not only when trying to understand if they are being paid fairly, but also about what to do if they are not.

Jared believes that if physicians had more knowledge around the business of medicine and best practices for negotiation, they would avoid being taken advantage of by the systems that pay them.

“I think what the Achilles' heel for physicians is, again, we are not taught anything about business and negotiations. I would be scared to be like, give me more. It would give me too much anxiety, and I think PE firms know that, hospitals know that, and so physicians are taken advantage of. Hospitals take advantage of physicians, even though we are so needed, there's a shortage of us. Nothing makes sense.” – Dr. Jared Dashevsky on How I Doctor

You can listen to this episode of How I Doctor with Jared and Graham above, access the full transcript here, and also weigh in on a discussion about Jared's additional insights about entrepreneurship here.

What do you think? Join the Discussion.

Do you agree that physicians are being taken advantage of? What can we do to reclaim our power and advocate for our needs within the healthcare system, whether it's fighting for a fair salary or otherwise? Should negotiation be taught in medical school? Let us know in the comments below!