At PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center, in Springfield, Ore., the hospital’s plan to boost efficiency by outsourcing its hospitalists has driven physicians concerned about being forced to rush time with patients to form a union.
The New York Times reports that it was “the idea that they could end up seeing more patients that prompted outrage among the hospitalists at Sacred Heart, which has two facilities in the area, with a total of nearly 450 beds. “We’re doctors, we’re professionals,” Rajeev Alexander, M.D., told The Times. “Giving me a bonus for seeing two more patients — I’m not sure I should be doing that. It’s not safe.”
