During the last decade, traditional union organizing among attending physicians has skyrocketed (research in 2024 shows this trend continues). Doctors see themselves as advocates for their patients. They’re trained to evaluate individual patient conditions, and to connect them to broader social and political root causes. They’re also trained to advocate for structural changes to improve healthcare. But this advocacy is undermined by not having power to make those structural changes a reality.
As doctors are increasingly employed as employees of hospitals and health systems, they’re experiencing growing worker discontent. They’re being smothered by bureaucracy, overwhelmed by increasing work demands and undervalued by their overseers. And as a result, they’re increasingly willing to organize and speak up.
Many doctors are organizing by joining physician organizations, or PHOs. These are multi-specialty groups of doctors and their staff who work together to provide patient care, including primary medical care, specialty services, hospital services and ambulatory care. PHOs have advantages for physicians, like providing negotiating leverage with healthare payers to improve contracts and negotiate higher fee schedules. In addition, working with a PHO can help doctors better manage their own medical practices by sharing administrative and technology support.
Other doctors are organizing by joining national “umbrella” organizations, or UMs. UMs are groups of multiple national medical associations, representing thousands of physicians. They are not a formal trade union, but can offer doctors benefits similar to those of a PHO, and can provide them with collective bargaining leverage to address issues that they face as individuals or in small groups.
A UM can also provide benefits to its members, such as reducing administrative costs and improving the quality of patient care. It can also facilitate communication and collaboration between different physicians, which is important in ensuring that patients receive seamless transitions between primary medical care, specialty care, and hospital services. It can also offer its members financial rewards for delivering high-quality patient outcomes, known as pay for performance, or value-based reimbursement.
Doctors are also organized through a global network of medical associations that is the World Medical Association (WMA). Founded on 17 September 1947, the WMA is an independent confederation of free professional medical associations, and works to ensure that physicians are independent and have the highest international standards in Medical Education, Medical Science, Medical Ethics and Health Care for all. The WMA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that is supported by the contributions of its member associations. As the leading global voice of physicians, the WMA is committed to the freedom and independence of physicians worldwide, as well as the adherence to the highest international standards in patient-centered healthcare. It is also dedicated to promoting the international development of physicians. Its Declarations, Resolutions and Statements are based on the International Code of Ethics for Physicians. These are used by national medical associations, governments and international organizations to guide their work and actions. They have a strong impact on the health and welfare of the people of the world, and serve as a source of ethical guidance for physicians.