Litigation

You know what drives me crazy?

In the current healthcare environment one is always worried about lawsuits. Most doctors will get sued at least once during their careers. Sometimes it's justified. Many times it's not. But it is not a system you can opt out of. You can't say no thank you to the lawyers who are trying to put your ass in jail and ruin your livelihood and drag your name into the mud. You have to defend yourself. That takes time, money, personal capital, and adds a lot of stress to your life when you already have that commodity in abundance.

So many practice defensive medicine. There is a 0.0000001% chance that blip on the X-ray could be a tumor? Get a $5000 MRI. Do a $3000 biopsy. Drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone. Do not use common sense. In fact, that is frowned upon when the lawyers are dissecting your documentation.

"Doctor, is there any chance that it could have been a malignancy?"

"Well yes, but it's so small that..."

"Thank you, doctor that will be all. Ladies and Gentleman of the Jury you have just heard this callous, rich bastard, doctor admit that he thought it could be a malignancy, and yet he did nothing! And now my client has been inconvenienced! This arrogant quack needs to pay!"

Do unnecessary tests. Squander limited resources. Subject people to invasive procedures and unnecessary radiation in the name of defensive medicine. Do this or risk your livelihood and potentially your freedom. Do no harm, right?