Relative Strengths of Health Reform
Physician Counter Trends
They go from strengths to strengths.
Psalms, 4
April 11, 2012 - The health reform law has ignited counter trends among
physicians.
Here I shall
assess the relative strengths of these trends and questions they raise.One, Strongest Trend – Hospital Employment of Physicians
This trend
is the most powerful. Hospitals are
employing more physicians. Hospital now
own more than half of physician practices.
Both primary care and specialist physicians, driven by decreasing reimbursement and
increasing harassment from public and private payers, are rushing to be
employed. Hospitals are even buying large physician groups. Reasons behind this
trend are multifarious. Young physicians
are seeking regular hours, balanced life styles, economic security, and money
to pay off educational debts. Older physicians are seeking an escape from
the business pressures of running a practice.
Many physicians are seeking an escape from malpractice worries. Hospitals are seeking greater market presence
and more negotiating power to deal with payers.
Will these trends sacrifice physician independence ? Will it compromise
the ability to do the right thing for
patients? What will happen to medical
societies, who heretofore have spoken for physicians?
Two, Second Strongest Trend – Accelerating
Consolidation at All Levels of the
System – This goes
hand in hand with first trend. It is proceeding at a rampant pace as hospitals
and physicians gather together to afford
the administrative, technological, and
informational strengths required to function in a regulatory environment. The strength lies in a unified and
standardized approach to reducing costs
and meeting government regulations. Consolidation raises these questions: At what point will larger organizationss violate
or evoke antitrust laws? When do the costs of these organizations
exceed benefits? How much will these
organizations raise costs? Will they medicine?
Five, Fifth Strongest Trend - Drift of Physicians into Concierge, Direct Pay, and Other Practices outside the Purview of Third Parties. This movement is gaining strength every day, although it remains marginal. These practices require less overhead, tend to be more personal, and provide more economical care. Their weakness is the ability to address major illnesses and major procedures. Their future depends on attractiveness to consumers, the economic status of the patient base and ability to pay, the region of the country, and federal and state government regulations of their activities,
Tweet: A
number of counter trends among physicians to the health care law are underway and gaining
strength.
No comments:
Post a Comment