How Much is a Surgeon Worth?

     In a system where the bill is paid by either insurance or the patient, the surgeon is seen as bring money into the hospital system. The insurance company or the patient pays the hospital for the use of the operating room and recovery room, as well as any staff and materials used. This generally means that if a hospital has room for another surgeon, it will try to get that surgeon to operate there. The added revenue helps the hospitals bottom line and allows it provide care that is uncompensated, like for those unable to pay. This system is the US model and one that is seen in the private hospitals in Australia.
    Another model is the public hospital model. In this model, the surgeon is very expensive. The operation performed is staff intensive. If an implant is used, it can be very costly; easily more than $1000. The surgeon here utilizes a lot of resources, but does not replenish the pot, as no one pays for any of the services provided, but the government. The government's subsidizing of health care is governed by taxes and a budget. It does not take into account the changes of health or illness seen in its population. However, when health care costs start to enlarge, one way of cutting back is to decrease operative rooms available. This means less operating and thus less money spent. The patients, people in the community, have to wait longer for their surgeries that are not emergent. They still get the emergency surgeries that are required, but if it can wait, it generally will.
     So in answering the question in the title, the surgeon's worth depends on where he works. In this second system, the surgeon has very little worth and thus bargaining power, because he is seen as a drain on the system. This is in direct contrast to the private model, where surgeons are a boon to the system. Asking for better equipment or staffing is tied directly to this.
     The health care provided in Australia is of good caliber and if the patient want surgery quickly, they can elect to go to the private system at any time. Overall, I think it is a good balance of private vs public systems at work, however, I am struck by the large shift in value of the surgeon fro system to system.