European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Megabucks hould specialists earn More m. D. Many doctors say they Are fed up with their profession. And Many want More Money. Quot greediness is becoming More and More an Issue Quot says a Pennsylvania physician. Not not by Daniel q. Haney Assolin Eccl press one doctor stopped eating in his Hospital s dining room when to finally tired of hearing colleagues brag about their Tat incomes my Gabiuck retirement funds and Money Money Money. Another remembers a physician s Shock at learning her salary. How could she be Happy when her pay a Moro than comfortable by most americans standards scorned so Low Money it seems is becoming an obsession a Many in Medicine in Tho United slates. Doctors Long have made lucrative live is. But huge fees a especially for surgery and High Toch procedures have turned medical pay into a subject of intense fascination both for those who pull Down sky High incomes and ii use who Aro jealous of the doctors who do Quot greediness is becoming More and More an Issue Quot said or. Michael v. Buenaflor of Northampton a Quot Guys arc a lot More cynical and Are turning to the Amei ican Way of go for it Quot in the medical world however As elsewhere Money does not always buy happiness. Many doctors say they Aro fed up with their profession. They complain of second guessing insurance companies burdensome paperwork miserly to Diciro fees High malpractice rates and Tho constant Foar of being sued among other things. Some Arguo that practising Medicino has become so unsatisfying that Many Aro Bent on making Suro the work is financially rewarding oven if it s no longer fun. Rewarding it is. The latest statistics show that monetarily at least doctors Ore doing very Well. Their pay is going up far faster than almost everyone Olson a lost year according to a Survey Thor not income Roso 12.ft percent almost triple the rate of inflation. Tho Survey conducted among 6,484 doctors by Tho Magazine medical economics found that the median not income of All . Doctors Roso almost $15,000 in 1989 to $133,000. Among Othor figures from the Survey a annual incomes Rangod from $87,000 for gooral practitioners to $296,000 for cardiovascular surgeons. A Ono in five cardiovascular surgeons Makos More than $600,000 annually. A Tho typical obstetrician s pay soared $36,000 last year Moro than any Othor specially. A Only 6 percent of doctors make less than $50,000 a year. Many doctors contend they studied hard and put in Long hours. They deserve to make a Good living they say. Quot when you consider that we work a 60-some hour week that we put 12 years of training in and we owe 50 grand when we Start on average i Don t think anybody is robbing the Bank Quot said or. Philip r. Alper an internist in Burlingame Calif. Quot we Don t make an excessive wage Quot he said. Quot i Don t have an apology to  some in fact fear they Are falling behind. Quot nobody feels bad for physicians. We do make a Good living Quot said or. Craig Czarsty a family practitioner and doctor s son in Oakville Conn. Quot but is my earning Power the same As my father s was 20 years ago probably  specialists Are particularly Well off but they contend they deserve to make More than other people including doctors in general care. Their work is often tedious and exacting they say and requires technical skills that take Many years to perfect. Or. Thomas Purdon of the University of Arizona health science Center notes the special pressures faced by his colleagues in obstetrics and gynaecology whose earnings the Magazine Survey pegs at $194,000. Besides the Many hours seeing women through Thor pregnancies labor and Early motherhood there is a real possibility that each is a potential courtroom opponent. Quot the Public expects an absolutely perfect product and does t want to recognize that there can be genetic problems and other things that the obstetrician has no control Over Quot said Purdon. Quot if things done to turn out just a of the first thing they do is try to find a lawyer to sue  yet an undercurrent of feeling remains a both inside and outside the profession a that some doctors Are just Plain Money hungry. A Survey conducted last year for the american medical association found that two thirds of americans think doctors Are too interested in making Money. Some criticism even comes from the Well paid specialities. Or. Peter s. Czachor of Kittery Maine notes that when he retired five years ago he was charging $700 for Complete obstetrical care. Now doctors in his area Are charging $2,000, and their malpractice rates Are the same. Those complaining loudest about physician avarice often Are doctors in the lower paying primary care specialities. Buenaflor is the doctor who grew weary of dining room talk of physicians financial conquests. The final Straw for him was an ear nose and Throat specialist who said he d finished the year with an extra $160,000 that he could t figure out How to spend. Buenaflor is a family practitioner traditionally the lowest paid medical specially. Last year according to the Magazine Survey they netted an average $97,000. Often when these doctors on the front lines of medical care talk about Money the conversation turns to specialists in More technical Fields. Quot in a going to be in my office 12 hours today Quot Buenaflor said. Quot i will net less than a col rectal Guy across town will do for a 20-minute colonoscopy Quot a routine diagnostic procedure. Or. Lorilee Smith a Rheum apologist in Modesto Calif., said she believes the financial attitudes of Many Young doctors who set up practice in the 1980s simply reflect the decades fixation on Money. She was struck by a conversation with a Young dermatologist who moved into her building. A after she had been Here for a while i told her what i made. She was shocked. She said but you seem so  compared to dermatologists in a making poverty level wages even though i make great Money a Smith said. It is hard to figure what doctors should be making. Quot what s fair payment Quot asks or. John Graham an official of the american College of obstetricians and gynaecologists. Quot is Joe Montana Worth what he gets i done to  Page 16 a the stars and stripes saturday september 29,1990