I’m seeing a growing trend of dissatisfaction on the part of office practice physicians employed by, or otherwise closely aligned with, hospitals.
They’re reporting a significant disparity between physicians who care/physicians with good skills/physicians who want to work, on the one hand, and the much larger majority, who have become satisfied to metaphorically punch the clock and collect a paycheck.
Those in the first class are becoming increasingly frustrated with mediocrity, meddlesome management, decreasing compensation, and the increasing overhead charged to them either directly or indirectly. What was supposed to bring more efficiency through “professional management” has revealed itself as ineptitude tied to profligate spending.
Because of the context in which I speak with these physicians (i.e. working with them to create new, independent practice structures, often in concert with the formation of new surgical and other facilities) it’s fair criticism to say that they’ve self-selected.
But so what? Isn’t that the point?
