Post by Neil Hockstein

https://lnkd.in/emHXmBbK For decades, we've framed the challenge of emergency department call coverage as a physician compensation problem - I believe that's the wrong question. The real issue is whether we have designed a healthcare system that properly supports one of its most essential public services: ensuring that every patient who walks into an emergency department has timely access to specialty care. Emergency call is not simply a service physicians provide to patients—it is a service physicians provide to hospitals so hospitals can fulfill their mission and their obligations to the communities they serve. When we view it through that lens, the conversation shifts from "How much should doctors be paid?" to "How should hospitals, physicians, payers, and policymakers share responsibility for sustaining this critical infrastructure?" In my latest article for ENTtoday, I explore why the traditional debate over call pay often misses the bigger picture—and why solving this challenge requires aligning incentives rather than simply negotiating stipends. This is an issue that affects every specialty, every hospital, and ultimately every patient. #HealthcarePolicy #EmergencyMedicine #PhysicianLeadership #HealthPolicy #HospitalLeadership #ENT #Otolaryngology #HealthcareReform