Quote from: Android on January 15, 2018, 08:44:22 AMI wouldn't say most doctors are thieves. In the US, cost of living is much higher, and the stricter regulations make things more expensive -- increasing costs for everything from renting operating theaters, equipment, to medication. Litigation is not uncommon either, and costs may be raised in anticipation for such events. Let's not forget that the US healthcare system is also brutally unforgiving without insurance, which CLL (or any cosmetic surgery) doesn't qualify for.
Elsewhere in the world where living costs are lower, I'd say the the increased demand has put a strain on the doctor's workloads, and they've raised prices to dissuade less committed patients. CLL is relatively unknown, but more people are finding out about it every year. They can effectively make the same money without overworking themselves; we as patients don't want to increase risk for error by allowing doctors to take on a handful of surgeries per day either. The solution is to have more specialized doctors to increase supply, and hopefully the increase in demand for CLL and improved surgical methods/equipment will make that possible.
And let's not forget that state-of-the-art internal nails like PRECICE accounts for the bulk of the cost these days. Cost of raw materials doesn't add up to so much, but they have to factor in profit margin, R&D, employee salaries, FDA processing fees, etc. NuVasive isn't the enemy either, since revolutionary products tend to start with high prices to pay for its initial investment.
Here's an interesting article by Dr. Birkholtz from September 2017, precisely about his takeaways of being a doctor as well as becoming a businessman:
Orthopaedic surgery as a business - getting it right
In the end, doctors indeed want to make money, just like all of us. It is a profession and they spent a lot of resources to become an expert in their field. They're not operating a charity and they are not your friend; they don't owe us anything. CLL is a cosmetic surgery, so no one is forcing us to do it. Lucky for us we have the internet, we have airplanes, and we have a lot of doctors to fit our unique needs.
It is no only my opinion. Go to google and write 'most doctors are' and the first hint you get is 'corrupt'. HIV drugs being sold for $150k , really? and when Indian companies made (for poor indians, India's gdp pr cpita $4500) generics, in response the CEO of a big pharma company said 'our hiv drug is for rich westrners not poor indians'. To give my personal life exmaple - I was a student then(had free medical insurance from university) , I had chest pain I went to student healthcare center who sent me to bigger medical college hospital - they kept me for 8 hours did numerous tests and told me at the end - take painkillers !! I said 'for how long?' thy said until the pain goes away! I said what if the pain does not go away in 2 years, 3 yars, 50 years!! they said oh ok - then take for 6 months if pain does not go away come back! Fast forward - I joined job, my student insurance was covering me till october so I decided that I dont need company insurance till January (u can take in june or january) unfortunately I fell down while crossing road in november, I was out of insurance so I went to hospital and told them that I wil pay from pocket and I don't need them to do 100 tests just need an xray to tell me if my hand had broken, they did an xray and gave me a gloves kind of thing to wear - thats it- for that they charged me $1400. Sam kind of stories I hear everyday. do you know the profit margin on medicines? whole medical profession in US is under corrupt clutches. And btw did you know - US govt spends 6 trillion dollars a year for medical of elderly people in US !!