Physician reactions to the health care revolution. A grief model approach
A. Daugird and D. Spencer
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri at Columbia, USA.
The American health care reform revolution has brought about major changes
in the practice of medicine. As integral components of the health care
system, physicians have felt the full impact of most of these changes.
Change often involves losses for those affected, and, in this case,
physicians are no exception. Many physicians have experienced losses of
financial security, social status, independent clinical decision making and
resource utilization, the practice option of independent private practice,
hospital governance power, freedom of choice in specialty selection and
geographic practice location, physician collegiality, continuity of patient
relationships, and autonomy. We use Kubler-Ross' grieving model to help
understand physician responses to their losses inherent in health care
system reform. The grieving stages of denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance are applied to these physician responses and
suggestions given to help physicians through this grieving process.
