Integration & Physician Issues

Seven pediatrician practices in the Chicago-land area have agreed to combine and form PediaTrust, a financially integrated organization that will officially launch Jan. 1.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia has completed agreements with six physician groups in the state to participate in a payment model designed to strengthen the role of primary care throughout Virginia.

The Medical Group Management Association recently asked 800 group practice professionals to rank seven of the largest health insurers on willingness to participate in payment innovation and professionals' perceptions of the payors. 

Bundled pricing represents an alternative approach to fee-for-service that shifts the risk of extraordinary costs from payors to providers, and it creates incentives for providers to make cost effectiveness a factor in clinical decisions. Both of these outcomes are attractive…

Although three-quarters of Society of Healthcare Strategy and Market Development members consider communication "very" or "extremely" important to the overall success of an accountable care organization, only 38 percent felt adequately prepared to communicate the initiative to internal and external…

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill are collaborating to create a physician assistant master's degree program to help reduce the state's shortage of healthcare providers.

St. Luke's Health System in Boise, Idaho, has been snapping up local physician practices at a fast pace, leading to higher prices for patients, according to a report by The New York Times.

The days of hospitals or health systems and physician groups working independently and with a level of distrust are falling by the wayside as the parties are integrating rapidly in reaction to the changes brought on by healthcare reform. In…

Physician burnout is at worrisome levels, as more than 86 percent of the country's physicians are moderately to severely stressed or burned out, according to a recent survey by Physician Wellness Services and Cejka Search. Burned-out physicians are more likely…

Philadelphia-based Society of Hospital Medicine has expanded eligibility for its fellowship in hospital medicine to non-physicians.