Detroit hospital spat strains region's health system

A mushrooming contract dispute between Detroit Medical Center physicians and affiliated teaching hospital Wayne State University could threaten WSU's accreditation, potentially depriving the city's uninsured of their main source of indigent care. At present, the jointly-administered teaching program hosts about 900 residents and 700 faculty physicians. These physicians provide about 40 percent of the primary care in Detroit and most of the care for the area's uninsured, according to the Detroit Free Press. However, DMC and WSU haven't been able to agree on terms for the contract which governs the 70 residency programs they administer. Among other things, the two sides disagree on how doctors should be reimbursed for additional duties they perform at DMC, and to what extent doctors should be barred from participating in businesses that compete with DMC.

Because contract talks have stalled for so long, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education may place the facility's accreditation on probation or even cancel all residencies. The result would not only be a crippling blow to the region's indigent care system, but also a tremendous stress on the metro's other health facilities. Detroit's other providers would face a substantial influx of uninsured patients, a huge spike in demand for primary care, and a loss of physicians once drawn to the academic medical program, observers said.

Find out more about the dispute, and potential consequences:
- read this piece in the Detroit Free Press

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