Told you so

"So how do we save money in this Alice in Wonderland pseudo-economy?" And answer came there none.
"Do more work; see more patients?" Er, no.
"See fewer patients?" No.
"See different patients by changing efficiencies?" Still no.
"Do work for free?" Sorry - still won't work.
All because the organisation that 'buys' from us doesn't have the money to pay the bills for what we do. So it doesn't. But it still expects the same level of work to be done and of course it will be done as no sane doctor will turn away a sick patient.
And there you have the internal market in an unpalatable, zany nutshell. Business principles in the ultimate non-business environment.

I was talking to my mother-in-law the other evening and she was reminiscing about the birth of her daughter, my wife, as parents tend to do on the occasion of their offspring's birthdays. She fondly remembered being in a large single room for a week - yes you read that right: a week - after the delivery, being pampered by the nurses and able to recover in peace. These days, after an uncomplicated delivery she would be sent home inside eight hours. Of course we no longer have the resources to do the former but it does not necessarily make the latter better.
Not everything that can be counted counts. And not everything that counts can be counted. Information is not knowledge.