In this discussion board post, you'll respond to the following case study from the perspective of a hospital president:
The board of trustees has directed you to organize a new cancer center. One of the requirements to get that done is to incorporate the operations of an oncology service. This service would administer chemotherapy and other clinical cancer services. The oncology physician at this point is an independent practitioner and has been for several years. He will not agree to be a hospital employee, but he is willing to lease office space from the hospital's new cancer center building.
The one other matter the oncologist insists on is that his net income not be negatively influenced by his association with the new cancer center. If the oncologist joins the new cancer center, his lab work would transfer to your hospital, as well as all its income. This represents a significant portion of the doctor's income, and thus, with all other things being equal, would negatively impact his net income. Your hospital is in a somewhat rural area and this is the only oncologist within 400 miles. If this doctor does not join the project, the project would be delayed for months at least, and there would be the risk that there would be no cancer center in the long run.
The doctor does have some expenses at his present location that he would not have at the cancer center. All facility costs would transfer to the hospital, as well as lab costs. At his present facility, the doctor pays rent and other costs. The one area that appears to best protect the doctor's income is the facility cost. You could charge him a rent that would offset part of his loss of income from the lab service. The rest you could make up in salary for being the cancer center's medical director.
The cancer center will also have a radiation oncologist, a doctor who provides radiation treatments for cancer patients. This doctor does not have the lab complications that the medical oncologist has. In fact, this doctor will sell you his business and accept his earnings from the business as his income. Rent is not an issue because the space is the hospital's property as well as the business that operates in it.
You've considered offering lower rent to the medical oncologist, but recent federal law requires you to charge him a market level rent. Now you wonder if there's some other way you could sweeten his deal -- and whether that would be ethical.
In your initial discussion board post, consider these questions:
What ethical issues are involved in this negotiation?
Would the greater good be served if you cancelled the cancer center because of the doctor's demands?
How would you try to attract the doctor to be a part of the project and still maintain legal and ethical standards?
How far would you be willing to go?
What point would you not cross and why, stated in ethical terms?