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Physicians and hospitals have traditionally had symbiotic, if strained, relationships. But market forces and recent technological advances have weakened hospital-physician relations, pushing hospitals and physicians to become competitors, rather than allies, in many regions. Because services that were once performed only in hospitals can now be safely performed in ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) and other outpatient settings, more physicians are drifting away from hospitals to become owners of entities that directly rival hospitals for revenue.