Fostering collaboration by understanding physician behavior: the cancer program perspective

To build collaborative relations with physicians, which are particularly desirable in cancer programs, hospital administrators must first understand the intrinsic differences between the ways physicians and hospital administrators operate. Administrators' failure to understand physicians' behavior can hamper the development of such programs. Relations between physicians and hospitals have traditionally been good, and while hospital administrators and physicians have approached health care from different perspectives, their activities have generally been mutually supportive. Over the last decade, however, health care payment reform has exacerbated differences in hospitals' and physicians' goals and expectations, and these differences have begun to threaten the traditional collaborative relationship between hospitals and physicians. This report is intended for hospital administrators who wish to strengthen their relationships with their physicians and thereby develop a more comprehensive approach to the delivery of cancer care services. It identifies specific physician behavioral tendencies and analyzes their potential impact on the delivery of patient-centered cancer care. It also examines the ways physicians' attitudes and behaviors develop, as well as the reasons physicians may find themselves in conflict with other health care providers. Finally, it reviews current factors affecting physician/hospital relations and suggests ways hospitals and their medical staffs can develop mutually supportive, collaborative activities.