I must take issue with the following remark towards the end of the morning's editorial: "Having doctors as salaried health employees would give them no incentive to do more than provide a minimum level of service and punch a clock."
You have obviously not thought this through. Most health professionals are in fact salaried as you know, and I believe they will be incensed to read this idea that their services are likely to be less than optimal because of the way they are paid. There are also physicians who are paid by the hour for services provided through various clinics, and this does not affect the quality of their work.
In fact this method of payment can allow the physician more flexibility, for instance in using her judgment to decided how much time a particular patient needs.
I am certain most of your readers know that the quality of service provided by their family doctors depends on those doctors' skill and knowledge, and not on how they are paid.
Carolyn McGhee, M.D.
Prince George
