I recently had my annual physical. Inevitably, the discussion with my internist yielded to the health care environment. We’ve had a long relationship, probably extending to about 20 years. She was telling me that her practice was unable to hold onto two young PCPs in the group, simply because the practice was not able to pay them enough.
The relationship of physicians and executives represent two legs of the famous “three legged-stool,” a metaphor that has been a long-standing staple in graduate school education. The relationship between physicians and administration has intensified. Some physicians are now “owned” by hospitals. Independent physician practices look at hospital-owned practices as hospitals competing for their business, and inevitably favoring them. Hospitals see independent physicians forming freestanding facilities as competing for bread and butter hospital business. New competition is arising such as from retail-based health clinics, that are adding services like wart removal. These clinics have the further potential to disrupt referrals.
On Friday, July 25, 2009, I’m going to be participating in an exclusive panel discussion at the AHA Health Forum Leadership Summit in San Francisco. Sponsored by ARAMARK Healthcare and led by Patrick Cawley, MD, MBA, chief medical officer of Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina and President, Society of Hospital Medicine, the session will explore some of the ways in which successful hospitals are working with physicians in a collaborative role in the operations of a hospital.
Health reform needs to come from us in the industry. What are the approaches we need to make to provide for better health outcomes? How can we improve the processes of care? How can the legs of the stool – board, physicians, and administration become sturdier and improve the care that society depends on us to provide?
Look for comments from the meeting later on this blog.
