Tensions Rise Between Oregon's Salem Hospital, Independent Physicians

Independent physicians within Oregon's Salem community are saying Salem Hospital is restricting their ability to care for patients in the hospital by "weeding out" physicians who aren't hospital employees, according to a Lund Report article.

However, Salem officials have responded saying they are not trying to create a monopoly by only having employed physicians and have a relatively small percentage of employed physicians compared with other hospitals in the area, the report said.

Independent physicians have also stated problems exist with Salem's hospitalist program regarding their back-up coverage. They said the hospitalist program is not inviting toward outside physicians, and they question the hospital charging them to pay for hospitalists who care for their patients. However, according to the report, hospital officials said they do not refuse to allow independent physicians to use hospitalists as back up, and the nonprofit hospital sees the charges as a purely business decision based on hospital costs.

Read The Lund Report article on Salem Hospital.

Related Articles on Hospital-Physician Relationships:

5 Foundational Questions for Hospitals Acquiring Physician Practices
Hospitals and Patient Centered Medical Homes: A Practical Pairing
7 Reasons Hospitals Struggle to Align With Physicians

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