DEEP DIVE · CHAPTER 12
Misaligned Incentives in Healthcare
The Needle Became the Plan
Healthcare pay formulas reward volume over quality, which is how a patient ends up on his ninth epidural with the needle as the destination instead of a step. This Deep Dive gives the evidence behind Chapter 12 of The Pained Brain, from the pay formulas to the money that arrives as lunch.
26 pages · 76 references, every one verified · written by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP, and Dr. KrisJay Fucanan, MD
CHAPTER 12 ON VIDEO
The System Profits From Your Pain
Dr. Padda walks through this chapter on video. All twenty-two are on the The Pained Brain playlist on the Padda Institute channel.
The receipts behind Chapter 12
The healthcare system is profiting from your continued suffering, and the receipts are public. In Chapter 12 I show you the man on his ninth epidural, the pay formulas that reward volume over quality, the money that arrives as lunch, and the trial that turned a lifelong disease into a temporary one. I inject people for a living. I am not against the needle. I am against the needle as the destination.
The book makes the argument. This Deep Dive shows the evidence, claim by claim: the study, who was in it, the number and where it sits in the paper, what it does not show — and the questions to bring to your own physician. It is written to be handed to your doctor.
Enter your name, email and mobile number. The PDF arrives by email within a few minutes, and the other twenty-one Deep Dives arrive one a week, in order.
Frequently asked questions
How many epidural steroid injections can you have?
The better question is why you are getting the next one. Chapter 12 of The Pained Brain opens with a man on his ninth epidural. Dr. Padda injects people for a living and is not against the needle; he is against the needle as the destination instead of a step. An injection should move you forward, not stand in for a plan.
Why do people say not to get an epidural?
Chapter 12 does not tell you to refuse one. Dr. Padda injects people for a living and is not against the needle. He is against the needle as the destination instead of a step, and against pay formulas that reward volume over quality, which is how a patient ends up on his ninth epidural. This Deep Dive gives the evidence behind that argument so you can weigh it with your own physician.
How do healthcare incentives affect patient care?
Healthcare pay formulas reward volume over quality, so the system can profit from your continued suffering. Chapter 12 shows how that works, from the pay formulas themselves to the money that arrives as lunch, and the trial that turned a lifelong disease into a temporary one. The receipts are public, and this Deep Dive lays them out, claim by claim.
Educational material. Not medical advice. If you are in the St. Louis area and want this looked at properly, that is what the Padda Institute is for.