Chapter 9.B.3: The Corporate Practice of Medicine

Until recently, most commentators argued that the corporate practice doctrine should yield to modern developments. See Nicole Huberfeld, Be Not Afraid of Change: Time to Eliminate the Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine, 14 Health Matrix 243 (2004); Adam Freiman, The Abandonment of the Antiquated Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine: Injecting a Dose of Efficiency into the Modern Health Care Environment, 47 Emory L. J. 697 (1998); M. Hall, Institutional Control of Physician Behavior: Legal Barriers to Health Care Cost Containment, 137 U. Pa. L. Rev. 431, 510 (1988); Note, 7 Health Matrix 241 (1997); Note, 40 Vand. L. Rev. 445, supra. 

Others, however, have argued that the doctrine should be revived in order to restrict the practice of medicine over the Internet — see, e.g., Brian Monnich, Bringing Order to Cybermedicine: Applying the Corporate Practice of Medicine Doctrine to Tame the Wild Wild Web, 42 B.C. L. Rev. 455 (2001) — or to protect physicians against excessive forms of managed care — see Andre Hampton, Resurrection of the Prohibition on the Corporate Practice of Medicine: Teaching Old Dogma New Tricks, 66 U. Cin. L. Rev. 489 (1998). More recently, there is a revival of interest in enforcing the doctrine in order to counter de-professionalizing aspects of private equity investment in health care. Relevant literature is cited under the introductory section to this chapter. See also Stuart I. Silverman, In an Era of Healthcare Delivery Reforms, The Corporate Practice of Medicine is a Matter That Requires Vigilance, 9 Health L. & Pol’y Brief 1 (Spring. 2015). See generally Pamela Martin & Anne Neville,  The Corporate Practice of Medicine in a Changing Healthcare Environment (Cal. Research Bureau, 2016)

For discussions of hospitalists, including ethical and public policy issues, see Hoangmai Pham, Hospitalists and Care Transitions, 27(5) Health Aff. 1315 (Oct. 2008); J. Coffman & T. G. Rundall, The Impact of Hospitalists on the Cost and Quality of Inpatient Care in the United States: A Research Synthesis, 62 Med. Care Res. Rev. 379 (2005); R. M. Wachter & L. Goldman, The Hospitalist Movement 5 Years Later, 287 JAMA 487 (2002); David Meltzer, Hospitalists and the Doctor-Patient Relationship, J. Leg. Stud. 589 (2001).