Integration & Physician Issues

A new study published in the Archives of Surgery shows that self-employed surgeons in private practice have decreased significantly from 2001 to 2009.

Albuquerque, N.M.-based Lovelace Health System has decided to no longer allow healthcare providers from ABQ Health Partners to treat Lovelace Health Plan members in the system's hospitals, according to a New Mexico Business Weekly report.

Billings, Mt.-based St. Vincent Healthcare has bought an interest in the five-physician Frontier Cancer Center, also in Billings, according to a Billings Gazette report.

Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare Health System, BayCare Physician Partners, the system's 1,100-physician clinically integrated network, and Aetna have partnered in a collaborative care agreement that aims to improve care quality and reduce costs.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance has accredited Crystal Run Healthcare in Middletown, N.Y., as an accountable care organization.

Hospital acquisitions of independent physician practices are driving up overall healthcare costs, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Hospitals across the country face a unique combination of pressures and competition right now. Population health and the proliferation of value-based reimbursement and risk-sharing structures are incentivizing providers to keep patients out of the hospital. More insurers and employers are…

Here are six studies, surveys or white papers from the past two weeks that reveal trends in accountable care organizations, patient-centered medical homes and hospital-physician alignment.

Change in general is hard; in a field as complicated as healthcare, change can be even harder. So when hospitals and health systems choose to implement accountable care, be it through an accountable care organization or population health management, the…

Patient-centered medical homes can reduce the cost of care for patients with complex medical issues, according to a recent study by the HealthPartners Research Foundation.