Two authors pose a new theory about lowering the cost of care: Make medical school more affordable. A new editorial up at the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests we may be in (or approaching) a medical education bubble market. As patients expect more affordable care and medical school tuition rises, that bubble could be on the horizon. Here’s the issue explained in a nutshell:
Are we in a bubble market in medical education? In medicine, students buy their education from medical schools and residency programs (which pay wages that are lower than the value of the work that residents provide in return). This education is transformed into skills and credentials that are then sold to patients in the form of services. So long as it is believed that patients, or whoever purchases health care on their behalf, will keep paying more and more for physicians’ services, students and trainees should be willing to pay more and more for the education that enables them to sell those services.
So what could stop that bubble from popping? Charging less for medical school. (Emphasis added below.)
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
The problem is this: if we aim to reduce the costs of health care, we need to reduce the costs of medical education. We don’t have to believe that the high cost of medical education is what causes increases in health care costs in order to develop this sense of urgency. We just have to recognize that the high costs of medical education are sustainable only if we keep paying doctors a lot of money, and there are strong signs that we can’t or won’t.
Check out the full article to read about how different medical specializations may be affected differently, and how med school student debt-to-income ratios compare to vet school counterparts.
Follow MedCity News on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.
