The American health care system is broken. This is the claim being brought by many politicians and substantiated by the negative personal experiences within the health care system by thousands of Americans. Medical cost issues aside, instances of medical errors resulting in the permanent disability or death of patients occur with far too much frequency.

There are many factors contributing to increases in medical errors. One pharmacologist, Joe Graedon, who lost his mother to a medical error, believes one factor is the way in which doctors and specialists are compensated.

Graedon's own mother died recently after suffering complications resulting from having a stent inserted in her heart. Graedon questions whether the procedure was medically necessary; believing the doctor who chose to operate on his mother may have done so merely for financial gains.

Doctors today are often financially rewarded based on the number of procedures they perform. Doctors often face pressure from the hospitals at which they practice to perform more of certain types of medical procedure that prove to be the most lucrative for hospitals.

Graedon argues that doctors should not be monetarily rewarded for the number of procedures they do. He believes this type of system only serves to encourage doctors to perform procedures that are not medically necessary and may result in errors.

Political pressure as well as costly litigation may bring about changes related to how doctors are compensated. Until this happens, however, patients would be wise to ask questions related to the potential benefits and risks associated with a recommended medical procedure and to seek a second opinion.

Source: The Huffington Post, "Medical Mistakes Killed My Mother, Doctors Need To Earn A Salary," Oct. 19, 2012