The PMD Critical List: Will Future MDs Work Less and Earn More?

Will physicians of the future work less and get paid more? One doctor suggests that could be one outcome of pay-for-performance health care. That story, plus a tale of a murder-for-hire plot involving doctors, and Dr. Oz’s attempt to rehabilitate his reputation, in this week’s list of must-read stories.

• New York Doctor—Killing the Competition (New York Post)

A successful Long Island cardiologist has been charged with the attempted murder of a former medical partner by hired hit men. The doctor was arrested at his mansion “where investigators uncovered a cache of more than 100 weapons.”

• Telling Doctors What Ails Them (The Wall Street Journal)

A wealth manager who specializes in advising physicians compares them to “child stars.” They work and study hard at their profession, “but often live sheltered existences and can be naïve about investing.”

• Keep Patients Healthy, and Doctors Sane (The New York Times)

An interesting essay from a busy doctor on the impact of Obamacare: “Now doctors get paid more if they do more. In the future, they will be paid more if they do it better—and may be paid more for doing less.”

• Dr. Oz Fights Back on Columbia Medical School Matter (The Washington Post)

In response to a call for his dismissal from the New York-based med school, the popular TV doctor says he brings “the public information that will help them” live better and he offers “multiple points of view without conflict of interest."

• Why Emergency Medicine Physicians Are Sued (MarketWired.com)

A new survey shows that emergency medicine doctors have a heightened risk for lawsuits on diagnosis-related issues “because they treat patients who are unknown to them and who have a broad range of clinical problems.”

• Britain Facing Mass Exodus of GPs (British Medical Association)

According to a recent survey, 1 in 3 NHS general practitioners are considering retirement and 30% are thinking of working part-time. They are “overworked and intensely frustrated” with not having enough time to spend with patients.

• Why All Doctors Should Be Entrepreneurs (Forbes)

It’s because “the areas of business operations, accounting, finance, strategy, marketing and management are critical in the practice of medicine.” It’s time to be “seeing ‘John Doe, MD, MBA’ on more doctors’ coats.”

• When Doctors Treat Their Own Kids (NPR)

A doctor-writer addresses “a dark corner of medicine. Nobody I know talks about it much.” Treating family members “falls into the realm of medical ethics—frowned upon but not illegal.”

• Figure 1 App—Digital Classroom or Medical Porn? (BuzzFeed)

This new app, or “Instagram for doctors,” lets physicians share and discuss graphic photos of patients, but the public can see too. “In addition to potential privacy violations, there’s the question of liability, for doctors who are posting photos and those commenting on them.”