Reconciling Two Solitudes: The Example of Physicians and Managers in Ontario's Hospitals

Abstract

This paper describes five aspects of the traditional relationship of physicians to hospitals and their administrators which fail to facilitate cost control or quality assurance. Several significant obstacles to changing this relationship are described, including the inertia of tradition, the fallacy of costless care and the chasm between medical and management cultures. It argues that to achieve care which is both cost-efficient and of high quality, physicians and hospital managers must unite to pursue common goals in a well-integrated management structure. Five suggestions for developing an effective new relationship are made, including the adoption of a “social contract” for all hospitals, the integration of physicians into hospital management and quality assurance programs, improved patient-level data collection and obligatory cost-awareness programs for hospital physicians.