When Dr. Donald E. Wilson?s son told him he didn?t want to follow in his footsteps, he knew something was wrong with his profession.
“My son made it very clear. He said he wasn?t interested in being a doctor,” Wilson said.
“He said, ?You work too hard and you don?t make enough money.? ”
Wilson said doctors are no longer the wealthy professionals parents encouraged their children to become, and the current state of America?s health care system is largely to blame.
Maryland ranks last in the nation in reimbursing doctors for medical care, according to a recent report from the General Accountability Office.
When Wilson received a kidney transplant almost two years ago, insurance compensated the University of Maryland Medical Center about $100,000 for the procedure, he said. The surgeon got about $1,000.
“That?s obscene,” he said.
The system gets more lopsided when you account for the 40 million people without health care, he said.
Wilson, 69, said he plans to become more active in medical policy, but not lobbying.
“More and more we?ve got to change our hospitals so they are more in tune to taking care of the patient,” he said.
