The corporatization of medicine: Part two

2016 was in fact the first year in which fewer than half of
physicians had an ownership stake in their practice, based on a survey by the
American Medical Association.[i] The
pace of acquisition of practices by hospitals and health systems during this
period was astonishing. From 2014-2018, just four years, corporate ownership of
practices increased from 24.1% to 45.6% of all physicians in a nationally representative
sample. After selling out, physicians actually experienced a reduction in their
income.[ii]The evidence that increasing concentration of medical
services is associated with higher prices is consistent and extensive.[iii]
This includes horizontal consolidation among hospitals[iv] and
physician practices,[v] and
vertical consolidation, i.e. purchase of physician practices by hospitals.[vi]Quality in medical services is difficult to measure, but at
least from the standpoint of physicians, the growing corporatization of
Medicine is widely experienced as compromising their ability to meet the needs
of their patients. It is widely understood that the Covid-19 pandemic imposed
enormous stress on the medical workforce.[vii] However, what is commonly called “burnout” – a
psychological state characterized by “overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of
cynicism and detachment from the job, and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack
of accomplishment”[viii]– was
common before the pandemic, and a matter of widespread concern. Simon G. TalbotandWendy Dean argued i...

Source: Stayin' Alive - July 21, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs