ABSTRACT
Physicians were generally not paid for the service they provided to the institution because it was considered to be a doctor’s duty to care for the poor. Physicians’ income was derived from the treatment of patients at the office or in their home. The American College of Surgeons made a survey of the 2700 general hospitals in use in 1917 and found that they suffered uniformly from a lack of physical facilities and poor quality control of services delivered. The physician has been a law unto himself and has resisted attempts at control. The technical power resides largely in the physicians and is concerned with the day-to-day operation and provision of services to one patient at a time. Certain conflicts of interest may prevent the physician from acting in the interests of the organization if it conflicts with his best interest; but the professionalism of the physician is an invaluable asset to a lay board.
