Funny, isn't it, they don't unionize for fear of abandoning patients, then are forced to abandon patients because they aren't unionized.
Yep, that’s what it is. In the days when most primary doctors where independent practitioners, hospitals depended on their referrals. They treated the docs well. I remember that. If a hospital mistreated my patient, I would walk in into the CEO’s office without an appointment and give him an earful. If needed, I’d also raise the issues on committees and during sessions of the Medical Board. If nothing helped, I would start using a different hospital. All this actually happened.
Practicing docs had enough influence without having unions.
Nowadays, big hospitals own entire networks of satellite clinics. Hospitals own their supply chains. Docs working in those clinics are - for the most part, but not always - employees. Individual practitioners play a minor role.
And CEO’s, btw, get paid 10 times their salaries of 15-25 years ago. And - doctor visits on line are not too different from those happening in person. There isn’t much talking taking place… physical exams, if any, are cursory. Hillary Clinton's HMO revolution of (as I recall) 1993 was supposed to turn docs into gatekeepers. That, to a large degree, it did. You get your prescriptions, specialist referrals - and you’re out. |
