This week, Petris Center Director Dr. Scheffler was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Bay Area doctor’s legal fight highlights medical industry pressures,” which detailed one doctor’s struggles with an increasingly consolidated health care system. Recently, the Petris Center released a new report in Health Affairs called “Consolidation Trends In California’s Health Care System: Impacts On ACA Premiums And Outpatient Visit Prices,” which deals directly with these pressures intensifying in California. The SF Chronicle article describes this doctor’s legal battle with her former hospital, then moves to a broader discussion of the current health care market, citing Dr. Scheffler.
“A health care system looks at cost and productivity, not just the care of the patient. It changes everything because the system has to deal with costs, improve productivity, it’s owned by the hospital and they want to tell (doctors) to do more so they can bill more. There’s nothing ethically wrong with that, but it does conflict with the autonomy of doctors, who are used to calling their own shots.”
This article was also featured as part of California Healthline‘s “As Hospitals Acquire Doctors’ Practices, Physicians Worrying Quality Of Care Is Taking Back Seat To Productivity,” highlighting market trends and the impact of stress that experts say “physicians across the country are feeling as consolidation ramps up.”
Read the whole San Francisco Chronicle story here.
Take a look at the full Petris Center report in Health Affairs here.