New York Times Headline: “Doctors Unionize at Big Health Care System”
I love that the Times chose to refer to Allina Health as “Big Health Care System”. Doest that remind you of anything?
Intentional or not, for me it brings to mind other notorious BIGs:
Big Oil
Big Tobacco
Big Tech
Big Pharma
Biggie Smalls (j/k)
There are plenty of perks to being a Big Bad Big; journalistic scrutiny isn’t one of them.
I’ve previously referred to behemoth integrated health care systems like this as Big Hospital, but Big Health Care System (BHCS) is more accurate.
The group featured in this article, composed of employees at Allina Health in Minnesota and Wisconsin (I’ve been an employed physician in both of these states), appears to be the largest group of unionized doctors in the private sector.
From the Times:
🔥 The doctors complained [yeah, we’re such complainers!] that chronic understaffing was leading to burnout and compromising patient safety.
🔥 Consolidation in the health care industry over the past two decades appears to underlie much of the frustration among doctors, many of whom now work for large health care systems.
🔥 Allina, which takes in billions in revenue but has faced financial pressures and recently eliminated hundreds of positions, did not respond to questions about the doctors’ concerns.
🔥 Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the department of medicine at UCSF, said in an email to the Times, “When a physician ran his or her own practice, they made the decisions about the people and technology they surrounded themselves with… Now, these decisions are made by administrators.”
🔥 Statement from Allina: “While we are disappointed in the decision by some of our providers to be represented by a union, we remain committed to our ongoing work to create a culture where all employees feel supported and valued.”
📣 Hey, “providers” (they are SO tone deaf 🤦♂️), Mom and Dad are disappointed in you for standing up for patient safety and for yourselves. But, fear not, they remain committed to their ongoing work to create a culture where you feel supported and valued.
The pressure is on.
Not surprisingly, similar efforts are ongoing at one of the two BHCSs in my city.
The Times also spoke to Joe Crane, the national organizing director for the Doctors Council of the S.E.I.U.
I had the pleasure of speaking to Joe after I was abruptly terminated without cause or warning by a local BHCS in August 2023. I appreciated his wisdom, empathy, and energy.
In a Bloomberg article from August 2023, also about Allina, Joe shed light on a critical distinction:
🔥🔥🔥 “They’re not unionizing for traditional things like pay or benefits. They’re reaching out because their patients are dying and they can’t do anything to stop it… their working conditions would shock the average person. Most people think that workers want unions for more money or more time off but that’s not what’s driving these people. This is like their last ditch effort to save health care.“🔥🔥🔥
Unionization is a last resort for employed doctors who want to remain in employed positions. We’ll see what happens.
If you’re an employed doctor who has had enough of the current system, consider ditching it with direct care, and stay tuned for The Direct Care Derm podcast launching January 4, 2024.
The Direct Care Derm will be a collection of solo episodes documenting in real time my journey from employment to direct care as well as interviews with other dermatologists and experts from other relevant fields such as healthcare law, insurance, branding, marketing, artificial intelligence, business strategy, hospitality, and more.
Consider it a blueprint and mindset bootcamp for any dermatologist (or other physician) who is even remotely curious about the direct specialty care model.
