| joyceb 2004-10-05, 2:08 am |
| Glenn -- was just wondering if in fact, as has been alleged so
colorfully by "Splashy", optometrists have financial incentives to
refer patients to eye doctors for laser surgery. If so, how much of
an incentive?
Considering human nature, I tend to think that in any situation
(including the above), financial incentive has an effect on behavior,
and the degree of incentive can be correlated to the degree of
behavioral modification. For instance, salesmen on commission are
more motivated to sell than salesmen on salary. Most people, when
buying a car, are aware of the financial incentive, and "caveat
emptor" is the rule of the day.
If optometrists do have a financial incentive, do you think most
people who are referred to a surgeon are aware of this? If not, do
you think that as a matter of policy, they should be made aware?
Please note that I am not alleging anything bad about optometrists.
Optometrists and doctors are flesh-and-blood, just like the rest of
us, and display the same general behavioral characteristics as those
who are not.
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