Doctors are human, and respond to economic incentives just like all other humans. News at 11.
yep. such posturing allows to keep price ("economic incentive") higher
And like all humans, they also respond to non-economic values when they are participating in a culture that reinforces those values. I think medical ethics has been eroded, both by the prevailing American cultural attitude that making money is the highest and best purpose to which one's life can be put, and by rising educational costs which mean that most doctors start their careers deep in debt. As long as we regard medicine as just another market, we'll see this kind of mismatch between profitability and patient well-being.
Is it really 'the key'? Why? You are making exactly the implicit cultural assumption I'm referring to. In a social context, self interest does not equate simply to economic interest. Incentivizing people economically is not the only way to motivate them, nor is it the most effective way. It only serves as a least common denominator, something to use when there are otherwise no shared values between the parties. Economics alone represents a floor, not a ceiling, and is certainly not a sound foundation on which to build a healthy society.