How dare they limit their patients clients!

How Dare They!
11/16/08 - 11/09/08  OhioSurgery by Jeffrey Parks MD

[edited] This is amusing. Public defenders in several states are suing to limit the number of cases they take on because of ethical concerns that the quality of legal representation is compromised by the current overwhelming workload. How dare they? A highly educated professional class that provides a necessary and free service to the community expects to deliver that service on their own terms.

I seem to recall another profession that provides an essential service to its community but is forced to see three times as many patients clients each day just to make ends meet. They spend less time than they would prefer with each individual, and therefore rely more on specialists and proceduralists to "figure out" what the patient's client's problem is, driving up overall costs.

Surely, we would not entertain the unfathomable notion that if public defenders and primary care docs were better paid, the quality of work provided by each might be better and, in the long run, cheaper.