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Changing roles for primary-care physicians: addressing challenges and opportunities.
C P McLaughlin1, A D Kaluzny, D C Kibbe
1Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. unikorn@bellsouth.net
Healthcare Quarterly (Toronto, Ont.)
|April 15, 2005
Summary
Disintermediation, like direct-to-consumer advertising, threatens the patient-physician relationship. Strategies are proposed to strengthen primary care amidst these healthcare delivery changes.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Delivery
- Medical Ethics
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Primary care is facing significant challenges impacting physician autonomy and patient care continuity.
- The traditional patient-physician relationship is threatened by disintermediation trends.
- Historical context shows a decline in the medical craft guild model since the mid-twentieth century.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine trends and actors in healthcare disintermediation.
- To outline social forces driving these changes.
- To present strategies for rebuilding and strengthening the patient-physician relationship.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of trends in healthcare delivery.
- Examination of social forces influencing the patient-physician dynamic.
- Literature review and synthesis of existing research.
Main Results:
- Disintermediation, exemplified by direct-to-consumer advertising, erodes physician autonomy and disrupts care continuity.
- Social forces are reshaping healthcare delivery, challenging traditional medical practice.
- Opportunities exist to leverage information systems to reinforce the patient-physician bond.
Conclusions:
- The patient-physician relationship requires active rebuilding and strengthening in the face of disintermediation.
- Anticipated advancements in office-based information systems offer potential solutions.
- Primary care faces an existential threat that necessitates strategic intervention.