During the 2017 AMA Annual Meeting, C. Edward Brown, CEO of West Des Moines-based Iowa Clinic, said consolidation limits the number of options available to patients and physicians because hospital M&A “focus on the business side — not clinical practice management … so patient care [takes] a backseat,” he said.
Sean May, PhD, vice president of Boston-based Charles River Associates consulting firm, cited recent research during the meeting that examined 375 hospitals acquired between 2009 and 2014. The analysis revealed operating expenses per admission among all 375 facilities declined 2.5 percent. However, an acquisition’s effect on quality was “generally small and statistically insignificant,” in terms of mortality and readmissions for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia, according to the report.
Dr. May suggested for hospitals to successfully improve patient care through consolidation, hospital CEOs “need to pour physicians into leadership management” and physicians “should engage that leadership to drive strategy … [hospitals] will need physician leadership to succeed.”
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