“To Be or Not to Be” With apologies to William Shakespeare
To be, or not to be: that is the question
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The rules and outrageous demands of CMS
Or to take arms against a sea of regulations
And by opposing end them? To revolt: to rest:
To forsake Medicare and earn well deserved peace
And cure the heart-ache, back pain and eye strain
That a physician is heir to, ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To break free, to sleep
To switch careers, follow our dreams: ay, there’s the rub;
For in that new horizon we know not what awaits,
In cancelling p q r and MU2, we know not what may result
This gives us pause, the concern of abandoning a noble pursuit
For who would bear the insurer’s insolence, the patient’s ire
The legal pitfalls, the administrative hassles, the social malaise
But the fear of the unknown, the dread of untested waters,
Is it better to bear those ills we have
Than to fly to others we know not of ?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.
Submitted by Udita Jahagirdar M.D., F.A.C.O.G.