Are Doctors More Like Moms Or Mechanics?  The health care system
wastes a lot of money. Economists say one reason is that it is
not set up like a traditional market: It's full of
peculiarities.  For instance, what role, in economic terms, does
the doctor play?  The Problem Of Doctors  Economically speaking,
doctors are like moms. They have our best interests at heart,
take care of us, deliver our babies and check our ears when
we're little. Mom listens, cares and prescribes. Mothers,
however, do not get paid. Doctors do.  In fact, most doctors get
paid for every single sale, every surgery and every procedure.
So, another proposal: The doctor is a salesman just like the guy
who sells you sunglasses on the street.  This is what makes
doctors such strange economic actors. In fact, the Nobel Prize-
winning economist Kenneth Arrow wrote about how crazy this was
in a famous 1963 paper. Doctors have a financial incentive to
act as salesmen. But the Hippocratic Oath reminds them to act
more like your mom.  The Auto Me