DEMISE OF PERFECT COMPETITION
The exclusive
contracts defile the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. It is
necessary to evaluate the effect these contracts have upon the medical field. I
isolate the number one consideration in the medical field to be quality of
patient care, based upon the Hippocratic Oath. The effects of exclusionary
contracts upon patient care are akin to any monopoly on the quality of a
service. Competition is a natural check upon quality; all producers must
provide high quality services in a competitive market or lose business. By
eliminating competition, the exclusive contract removes the risk of losing
business, the major motivation for providing high quality care. In the medical
field, however, the implication of losing high quality services is obviously
much more sinister; it equates to the suffering and/or loss of life of the
patient. Instead of vying for exclusive
contracts, physicians must be willing to demonstrate their worth in a
competitive market. We have a moral responsibility to provide our patient with
a freedom to choose the best. Bill Clinton shopped for a surgeon when he needed
heart surgery; and so did the CEO of the hospital. In clinical specialties, exclusive contracts
deny a common man the freedom to select a physician. It is high time that we
collectively make exclusive contracts illegal.
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