Rvus Blues: How should Docs Get Paid?(Relative Value Units‪)‬

An earlier version of this article was delivered as the incoming president's address at the 2002 annual conference of the American Society for Bioethics and the Humanities. One of my favorite books about doctors is John Berger's A Fortunate Man. (1) Toward the end of that book, Berger asks a question about the way we evaluate doctors' work. He writes, "Supposing one is an intelligent but careless doctor--how much must he forfeit for treating one case, ten cases, a hundred cases carelessly? Supposing that he is an intelligent and unusually dedicated doctor .... What would his bonus be?"