No other participant in our nation’s healthcare system features as much education and training as a physician. Following four years of medical school, a physician completes a lengthy residency, which is often followed by a one-year fellowship in a sub-specialty field. A neurosurgeon, for example, completes a six-year neurosurgery residency, and that is often followed by a one-year sub-specialty fellowship.

Physicians relied on this unique level of education and training to create and manage all segments of the healthcare system for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. The nation’s first modern hospitals were created and led by physicians, such as the Mayo Brothers.

No partnership in healthcare is more important than the patient-physician relationship, and physician-led hospitals put that relationship first. When patients determine what treatment option will provide the best outcome, patients turn to physicians for their expertise to guide them through the process. This is obvious in physician-led hospitals, where a positive outcome for a patient, not the bottom line, is the goal.

Corporate interests representing health plans, hospital systems and other segments of the healthcare industry began removing physicians from leadership roles in the final decades of the 20th century. Today, the removal of physicians from leadership roles is experiencing an exponential increase.

In many cases today, it’s the “suits,” not the “scrubs,” who determine what’s best for our patients and communities.