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Article: Physician unionization efforts gain momentum, support.
- Article from:
- Healthcare Financial Management
- Article date:
- November 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Healthcare Financial Management Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As greater numbers of physicians have relinquished control of their independent practices to become employees of healthcare organizations, particularly managed care organizations, the number of unionized physicians in the United States has increased. Today, about 25 percent of all physicians, not including house staff, are employees of healthcare organizations.
Physicians have become frustrated by HMO policies and rules, perceiving that managed care organizations emphasize cost control to the detriment of patient care. As one commentator recently remarked, "It's a new era of health care where patients are called units, and patient care is measured in terms of ...