Are Medical Care Services Becoming Money-Making Machine in Human Society under Physicians’ Headship in 21st Century Business-Driven World?

In the 21st century world, people mostly behave with business mentality without considering moral obligations in society. In this behavioral change, the service market, particularly the medical care service market, has appeared to be vulnerable. Because of supplying medical care services, the doctor or hospital receives capitation payments, fees-for-services, risk pool settlements, incentive payments or other fees. However, today it is probably the most criticized profession in world economy country-wise such as Bangladesh. Sometimes doctors here are blamed for requiring unnecessary tests of patients for doctors’ own monetary gains. In some cases, doctors’ efforts are assumed to relate to pharmaceutical products promotion by writing lengthy prescriptions. Some groups claim that today doctors spend less time on each patient. All these interactions justify claiming that a patient works for a doctor when the patient visits a doctor for medical care services. Here the existence of “asymmetric information” dominates the medical care market where doctor takes advantages in multiple facets. It causes market inefficiency that creates negative economic externalities—deadweight loss. Improving medical education with special emphasis on ethical aspects and soft skills in communication is considered important in order to reduce the magnitudes of today’s dilemma in the medical care service market. Also, strict enforcements of medical care provisions and ethical code of conduct among all health works can be instrumental. Finally, the answer to the question “Are medical care services becoming money-making machines under physicians’ headship in the 21st century business-driven world?” depends on who are asked. But the reflections of today’s medical care market in economy of Bangladesh are no deniable, which deserves to be studied further curtailing the magnitudes of the problem.

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