“Treat the patient.”
Or… “Meet this month’s target.”
What happens when a young doctor is expected to do both?
Medicine and dentistry are built on compassion, ethics, and evidence-based care. Yet, many young healthcare professionals today work in environments where monthly performance or revenue targets are part of the job.
Imagine sitting with a patient, explaining the best treatment option, while knowing that your performance may also be measured by numbers.
Now imagine being the patient.
If a treatment is expensive, would you trust that it’s being recommended because you need it—or because someone has a target to achieve?
This is the silent challenge facing modern healthcare.
Patients often expect empathy, while doctors are expected to balance clinical excellence with organizational pressures. Neither side sees the full picture.
Healthcare organizations need financial sustainability.
Doctors need professional autonomy.
Patients deserve trust.
The real question isn’t whether healthcare should be profitable. It’s whether profit should ever influence clinical decision-making.
What do you think?
Should a doctor’s performance be measured by patient outcomes and trust—or by monthly revenue targets?
I’d love to hear perspectives from doctors, dentists, medical students, hospital administrators, and patients.
MBH/PS