Do doctors and Nurses undergo surgery at a rate far lower than the
general public.  If so, I need a respectable source for this
information.

Leroy777,

Thank you for your question about professional courtesy between
medical professionals.

Professional courtesy, or the taking care of the families of other
physicians without charge, dates back thousands of years. This can be
something as little as waiving an insurance co-pay or providing a
reduced price on procedures to something as big as providing medical
services at no cost.  You can find a history of this practice at
http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_99/feat0308.htm#sb

In recent years, there has been a movement to stop, or at least
minimize, this practice.  Some legal experts consider the waiver of
insurance co-pay amounts to constitute fraud.  The American Medical
Association (http://www.ama-assn.org) recently provided their guidance
on the practice through their Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.

So, in answer to your question, yes, the practice of professional
courtesy does exist.  To what extent and how much total dollars are
saved, it isn't known, but estimates run into the millions of dollars
each year.

As an aside, I would like to add the practice of professional courtesy
is not exclusive to the medical profession.  As a matter of fact, it
runs, in one degree or another, throughout almost every industry there
is.

For more information on professional courtesy in the medical
profession:

Professional Courtesy and Health Care Fraud and Abuse 
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/4615.html

Professional Courtesy
http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/Articles/Professional_Courtesy.html


Thank you again for your question. Please let me know if you need any
further clarification.

Regards,

-THV

---

Request for Answer Clarification by leroy777-ga on 28 Oct 2002 10:47 PST

That wasn't the question.  Not even close.  I don't give a fig who
pays what.  The question was and is --- Do Doctors and Nurses have
less surgery than the rest of the population?

---

Clarification of Answer by tar_heel_v-ga on 28 Oct 2002 11:16 PST

Leroy777,

I apologize for misunderstanding your use of the word rate.  I read
"rate" as pricing, while you obviously meant it as frequency.  I will
research and provide you with an answer to your question regarding the
frequency of surgical procedures among doctors and nurses.

Regards,

-THV

The researcher answered a question I did not ask.  After receiving my
follow-up, he appologized for misinterpreting the question, and said
he would provide an answer to the actual question.  That was two weeks
ago.  Haven't heard from him since.  That is sorry service.

Researcher answered a question I did not ask.

Although it's not entirely clear, I'd guess the question was not about
rates in terms of fees, but in terms of numbers of procedures. I don't
know of studies on that subject; but if there were, it might be hard
to interpret any findings. Physicians I know often tend to ignore
their own symptoms for various reasons, and may choose to live with
certain conditions such as hernia, for example, rather than taking the
time to get them taken care of. They tend to feel indispensible, and
therefore that they should not take time off. If the question implies
that health care professionals might have fewer procedures because
they know "the truth" and avoid them, I would doubt such a finding.
Having operated on many doctors and nurses, I'd say that if there are
fewer procedures among them, it would have to do with the above
predicted reason. If the original answerer cares to re-attack the
question from the other presumed meaning of it, perhaps other info
would be forthcoming.

Regarding professional courtesy in relation to employee benefits, I
know of three ladies who work in the offices of various types of
physicians, and one lady who works in a dental office.  All of them
(and their families) receive free office care/procedures (and vastly
reduced or complimentary surgical fees) including medications when
they can be found among the free samples.  It's considered an
employment perk.

perhaps the person who asked the question would care to clarify
whether the question was about price, or about frequency as I
suggested