I guess I should say that's the net. It's after business expenses. I was starting up a practice so I had lots of deductions and not a lot of income. And no I didn't cheat on my taxes if that's what you're implying.

Maybe you did,,,,,,,,,,, unknowingly.


Life's Been Good

Wasn't implying anything. I just know that you can legally write off a lot of stuff

Even you have to admit, SPG, that it won't always be that way. In fact, depending upon lease agreements, equipment depreciation methods, increased patient base, etc., your net profit will climb quickly in the next few years, provided the economy doesn't tank so much that NO ONE goes to the doctor, and provided you are able to actually get the money you earn in the door even at MCR/MCD rates. It is true that the beginning years of a practice are tough. Especially going it alone. But it does get better financially. If it didn't no one would do it. Who'd go to school as long as you all do for $19,000 a year no matter how much of a calling they had? As dream16 said, you must be able to pay the bills.

That being said, I could tell more what you actually made if you tell me gross billed and your collection rate as well as your payor ratios. (I don't really want to know that... just making a point...) That's more indicative of where your practice is going than your adjusted income on your taxes. I actually worked for one large practice who had billed millions in charges yet their collection rate was below benchmark in every category. Those providers still made great salaries. The practice, however, on paper took a loss. Tax wise, they were a failure due mostly to bad debt write offs. Those doctors were the richest failures I've ever seen. It did get better with corrected business/billing practices, and they were quite happy. But they weren't really hurting before I got there, in spite of themselves. (At least not what I'd call hurting. They thought they were, though...)

No, I haven't seen all doctors. But I have worked in three states and across specialties for 20 years in provider offices as well as doing some consulting as of late, so I've seen quite a few situations. And I have to say that you and dream16 are exceptions to the rule.

Honestly, probably not. I think that market is pretty well over saturated. Additionally much of the population in Montana is uninsured, so patient volumes are drying up across the board. I've largely backed out of that practice and only go out to Montana for a couple of days every other week. I'm mostly working for other people in Seattle these days, and yeah I'm making more this year. Certainly not six figures though.

This is a joke right?

No.

My friends first year as a doctor was 16,500 and he worked 36 hour shifts and every day from 7 am to 7 pm. every third night had to work also.

Second year was 17600 and last year was 21,000.

Had one law suit on a patient he didn't even but in a group setting where he did the H&P workup.

4th year was 42,000 and he had loans of 180,000 dollars.

Medical fees are 12 a year for license, and B&O tax on top of loan interest.
took him 7 years to get out of debt

He now makes 140,000 and pays 60% of that, also his own malpractice which is 18,500 that must be paid BEFORE he practices this was hard in year 4 had to take a loan.

Now his attorney who he hired charged 350 dollars an hour .

Dead serious.

Prosser washington is looking for a physician fast and is paying top dolar right now with sign on fee, work any hours you want.

Look, medicine is like GM or Ford.
The old guys who have a clinch on the hospital and have been in the comunity make a ton and they do not share, the new people coming in get the garbage and the difficult hard cases that take a lof of time. One doc I know in portland partnered with another and all they do isw family practice and hand out prozac to middle aged women and he pulls in 46,000 a MONTH after expenses, him and his partner...

while the younguns and those who didnt fall into a good job make didly.

just like CEO's some make millions while the workers dont survive.

Yikes! You just reminded me of that one scene in the movie Malice . Tell me this isn't you SPG. Lie if you must.

Yeah. That's me to a T.

Think about what you know of me PM. My grandest ambition in life is to have some land where I can raise goats. I drive a 15 year old Saturn, live in a rented duplex, and made $19,000 last year. Does any of that remind you of God? I'm about as plain old folks as they come.

I have often thought it was stupid to overwork doctors for things like when your work wants you to bring in a note. Its obvious you ahve a cold or flu so why do you have to go to a doctor for that. Or is that like giving a doctor a 5 minute break because it is a simple thing they can charge for.

Should we burden doctors for small trivial things? Face it we have become a society of whiners, we have to see doctors for almost everything... (yes, taht is a generalization and I don't mean the majority of peak oil peoples.)

I got some for you then. Plenty of water, not far from the lake full of trouts, clean air, unspoiled natural vegetation, has some minerals and OIL. Around $ 13 per acre (negotiable). To ease the burden, I am throwing in free healthcare, free education and pretty much non-existent income tax. Interested?

I made more than that as an EMT working three months out of the year last year.

This year, I'll probably make more than you as a nurse.

Supposedly, there are a lot of doctors getting out of the business now.

The thing I hate about colds is that people who come in with a cold usually hate being told that they have a cold. "I spent $50 and took the time to come in here and now your telling me to rest, drink liquids and take Tylenol?!?!?" Most people who come in with a cold are fishing for antibiotics that they don't need and won't benefit from. When it's something simple like a work note, that's bonus. None of the uncomfortable negotiation thing. I love it when the patient needs something simple and I can quickly give it to them and they leave happy.

Ivan Illich talks a lot in Limits to Medicine about the conflicting roles that doctors are put in vis-a-via things like work notes, disability determinations, etc. First doctors take it as their mission to exterminate suffering (an impossible task). Then society tasks them with being the ones to certify when people are suffering.

I'm a SAHM. My training is in family medicine, but after ten years of it, I couldn't take any more.

Now that's sounds exactly like something that smug Alec Baldwin would say. I'll bet Alec drives drives a 15 year old Saturn as well just to be ironic. Would you slick back all your goat's hair with Paul Mitchell gel product as well?

Here's an interesting interview from Lew Rockwell this week where a doctor describes how the government broke the physician/patient relationship, and how HIPPA has actually destroyed the privacy of that relationship (click to listen online)...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/podcast/?p=episode&name=2008-11-24_073_the_medical_mess.mp3



If you like Lew, throw this feed into your podcatcher...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/podcast/feed.xml

If you prefer RSS readers...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rss.xml

From now on I'm not going to grump about having to go to the doctor for a note if its ever needed. I'll just look at it as compensating the doctor for the times I walk in to their office with something that is going to take time or be gross... which should be too long now, I've hit my hand with a hatchet at least 4 times in teh last two weeks.

Absolutely brilliant interview Tommy. Really made me question some of how I approach patients.[/quote]