title: Physician unions--an ethical and legal issue in health care delivery.
abstract: The controversial issue of physicians' unions has been revived in the past few years by the economic juggernaut of managed care. The uproar of legal and ethical dilemmas surrounding the creation of physician unions centers around self-employed physicians, their formal employment relationship to HMOs under the National Labor Relations Act, and the ramifications of exempting physicians from current antitrust laws. Will physician collective bargaining increase competition and equalize the power between physicians and HMOs so that the quality of patient care improves? This report discusses relevant laws and the history of physicians' unionization, reviews contemporary thought and present policies on physician unionization, and comments on alternatives and new policies that could be created in order to resolve this dilemma.
authors.affiliation: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Canales
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards*; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations; D006801:Humans; D007750:Labor Unions / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008145:Louisiana; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards