Letters: Challenges different fordoctors in rural communities

Most of my patients know I will be leaving this area soon. (I'm going to miss you all!) My reasons are personal, not economic, but the economic aspects of practicing medicine as a specialist in a rural area should concern everyone. Why? Because that's the single highest bar to recruiting new specialist physicians to the area.

Any new specialist interested in practicing here would have to look at the financial bottom line. What will it cost to start up my practice? Do the benefits outweigh the risks? Can the community (i.e., the hospital) do anything to help lessen those financial risks?

California's statutes prohibiting "the corporate practice of medicine" put severe limits on our hospital's ability to recruit specialist physicians. These laws are intended to prevent corporations (such as Sutter) from controlling or influencing doctors' medical decisions, but they also prevent the hospital from doing much to defray a new doctor's risks.

I encourage you to learn more about the prohibition against the corporate practice of medicine. It's a messy issue—I could easily have argued the other side, defending the law as a way of preventing the abuse of specialists by corporations. Nevertheless, there must be a solution which would protect against such abuses and provide some exception to small communities like ours. Contact your state representatives and let them know this is an issue which affects us all.

Douglas Hoffman MD

Crescent City