Integration & Physician Issues

Losing a physician is painful — and costly — for hospitals and health systems. The cost of replacing a physician can exceed $250,000, according to various estimates. While it is nearly impossible to retain every physician, hospitals and health systems…

Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., has established a lung nodule center to provide early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment for lung cancer patients, according to a Newsday report.

Physicians consider many aspects of a location before choosing to settle in and practice medicine there, but they find some traits more important than others, according to results from a Medscape survey.

More than 97 percent of shareholders of Madison, Wis.-based multispecialty physician group Dean Health Systems voted in favor of merging with St. Louis-based Catholic hospital system SSM Health Care.

Shifting from a physician-centered work distribution model to a shared-care model can lead to improved physician satisfaction and greater "joy in practice," according to a report recently published in the Annals of Family Medicine.

Aetna has launched a patient-centered medical home program in New York.

A new law recently passed in Montana supports payor and provider collaboration to form patient-centered medical homes, according to a Sidney Herald report.

Physician assistants in Missouri may soon have more independence thanks to pending legislation, according to a KCUR report.

Boston-based Partners HealthCare, the parent of Massachusetts General and Brigham & Woman's hospitals and one of the most powerful healthcare providers in the Boston region, dominates because of its large physician network, as opposed to its number of hospitals, argues…

The Concierge Medicine Research Collective recently released data from surveys of concierge medicine and direct pay primary care physicians conducted December 2009 through December 2012.