Saturday, May 26, 2012

Exclusive Contracts: Who Bears the Brunt?


At first sight it might seem that exclusive contracts are harmful to the excluded physicians only.  However, the main brunt falls upon our trusting patients. Essentially, the patients of the excluded physicians are denied all the advanced technology and collective wisdom of the physicians in a given hospital. This is all the more true when a physician in a small hospital is unable to admit his sick patient to the main hospital from which he is excluded. An example in cardiac surgery may be use of nitric oxide which may not be available in a smaller hospital.  Economic credentialing denying a physician the privileges due to exclusive contracts may deny his patient the use of nitric oxide which is a life saving measure. In addition, exclusive contracts deny the patient the opportunity of the consults from experienced physicians. The excluded physicians are also not able to pursue the CME in the excluded hospital, thereby indirectly affecting the patient care. It is my sincere hope that even those physician who have never personally experienced economic credentialing, will take a stand for the sake of our patients, to eliminate such an appalling practice in a clinical fields like cardiac surgery. 

logo  Pankaj Kulshrestha, M.D.Dayton Cardiac Surgery
East Medical Plaza
627 Edwin C. Moses Boulevard, Suite 5J
Dayton, OH 45417
www.daytoncardiacsurgery.com

No comments:

Post a Comment