Physicians' Dual Practice: A Theoretical Approach

The present study seeks to evaluate the theoretical approach towards physicians’ dual practice. This is done by investigating the various theoretical grounds that form the basis of physicians’ dual practice. The study presents theoretical findings by comparing them with practical primary data from experienced experts. An in-depth search of the top keywords related to dual practice was done in various databases. The study first identified all articles related to dual practice in various databases. In total, 59,838 articles identified after duplicates were removed were narrowed down to four hundred and thirty-eight (438) studies and considered relevant for review. The filtration process was carried out based on the recentness of the articles. A review of the articles was done to eliminate duplicates, a linguistic check was conducted, and a final sorting was carried out to arrive at fully accessible reviewed articles in the journal databases. Filtration was done to select fully accessible publications under the following keywords: Herzberg’s two-factor theory, contract theory, and supply of labour theory. Forty-one (41) fully accessible and peer-reviewed articles were used for analysis. The study underscores that dual practice can be theoretically modelled as a function of three theories (Herzberg’s two-factor theory, contract theory, and supply of labour theory). It is paramount, therefore, for studies to appreciate the theories in understanding the motivation behind the dual practice. Thus, the present study has proposed a hybrid integrated theory, the Integrated Theory of Labour, Supply and Motivation, in order to offset the weaknesses of the theories and build on their strengths. Implications for Central European audience: This study proposes the Integrated Theory of Labour, Supply and Motivation in order to help researchers and government institutions better address the concept of moonlighting in public institutions. The study concludes that future scholars and researchers in related fields could extrapolate the Integrated Theory of Labour, Supply and Motivation by conducting a factor analysis in order to validate the theory since it offers a platform to cover the drivers behind the dual practice in a comprehensive manner and also builds on the strengths of other theories explaining the dual practice. Theoretically, the study also validates the theories it uses and the extent of their applicability to this and similar studies. This is not through ruling out theories explaining dual practice but reinforcing them. The findings of this study may be useful in shaping policy in the area of managing contracts for physicians in dual practice and supply of labour economics in general.