Physician-hospital cooperation

Except for a common mission in caring for patients, physicians and hospitals have frequently been on opposite sides of the health care fence, fulfilling objectives that were at many times opposite each other. Since the Medicare program started in 1966, however, physicians and hospitals have entered a new era heralded by cooperation and mutual respect. With the rapidly changing health care environment, confusion and frustration have challenged that relationship. The following article calls for a renewed cooperation between hospitals and physicians and proposes a method to try to achieve stability within the market.