In this module, you’ll examine the role of the physicians and hospitals in the health care ecosystem. You’ll explore the different types and payment methods for both physicians and hospitals, and how hospitals utilize these methods to maximize profit. Through analyzing the Health Care Value Chain and Principal-Agent Problem from Economics, you’ll be able to establish the unique importance of physicians in the health care markets as a perfect agent, and the different approaches and implications of this relationship. You’ll also gain a general overview of the characteristics that define hospitals, the effects of different trends on the decline in number of beds in hospitals, and two common hospital practices to address this issue: cost shifting and cross subsidization. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to better understand the role of physicians and hospitals in health care markets and employ best practices and maximize profit for your health care organization.