One Doctor's Story

So here's an email that I just got, a forward from a wider list, and I have to wonder how representative this is of the frustrations of being in medicine right now:

I'm retiring next May. My patients start to have a fit, demand to know why,
I reply 'because I can' and they understand that perfectly. I've become a
part of some families lives. I haven't kept a work journal but reasons to
get the hell out continue to pile up; I am reaching a point where I would
rather flip burgers than deal w/ insurance companies. Had two demands yest
to 'justify' prescriptions to BlueCross. Last week they wrote me a letter
and said they'd approve a prescription IF I sent them supporting medical
literature. They even specified what sort of journal it had to come from.

That guy is an insulin dependent diabetic who exercises, doesn't smoke or
drink, maintains a good weight, is working and paying taxes. People like
him have the same life expectancy of someone newly diagosed w/ AIDs; somehow this drug, which should have done it's job in 6-8 wks, makes him far more comfortable. For whatever reason he needs it. So I am keeping this man,
this tax paying man w/ prescription coverage, in samples. The drug rep is
taking on blue cross. Multiply that hassle by 3000 and you have my work
life. Love to all; bb

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No links here, just the story.