CMA: Sues University Of California For ‘Corporate Practice Of Medicine’
The California Medical Association today is expected to file suit against the University of California system, accusing University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center administrators "of taking over the practices of community physicians and shifting control of patient care to UCLA Medical Enterprises," or in other words, of engaging in "corporate practice of medicine," which is illegal in the state. The CMA notes that UCLA "has long employed physicians to teach and perform research," but the association objects to what it considers a "push to employ community doctors who have little or no academic responsibilities with the aim of capturing patients and dollars." An attorney for UC "said Wednesday that UCLA is simply fulfilling its academic mission and adapting to the changes in medicine by spreading its research and education activities out into the community." CMA CEO Jack Lewin said, "If UCLA succeeds, there's no reason why any other corporation shouldn't be able to hire doctors and direct them." The lawsuit was originally filed by Santa Monica-UCLA anesthesiologists who said they were being forced out of their hospital practices by UC-hired doctors -- the CMA "reluctantly" joined the suit "after repeated efforts to negotiate with the university stalled" (Marquis, Los Angeles Times, 12/10).
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