Integration & Physician Issues

The Regional Medical Center, based in Orangeburg, S.C., has added three cardiology offices to its network.

The percentage of physicians' pay tied to quality of care would double in 2016 under draft regulations released by the Medicare program this month, according to a Kaiser Health News report.

HHS announced today that it will provide $12 million in grants to support residency programs for primary care through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Aligning with physicians is traditionally a difficult process for hospitals and health systems, thanks to a history of strained relations between the two groups. However, physician alignment and integration is absolutely essential for hospitals to master in today's healthcare environment.

The majority of physicians in training prefer hospital employment, whereas practicing physicians' first preference is a single-specialty group, according to survey findings from The Medicus Firm.

Although most physicians do not see a career move in the short-term future, those who did cited greater financial rewards as the main motivating factor, according to findings from The Medicus Firm.

More than one third — 34 percent — of physicians say they are "very" or "somewhat" likely to leave their practice or group in the near future, according to the Wolters Kluwer Health 2013 Physician Outlook Survey.

The Texas legislature has approved a 500 percent increase in funding for the Physician Education Loan Repayment Program, according to a Dallas/Fort Worth Healthcare Daily report.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has started an emergency medicine residency program, according to a San Antonio Express-News report.

Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives has formed a new management- services organization, Catholic Health Initiatives Physician Services, to deliver business functions and physician-management services under a national organization to eight divisions.