Integration & Physician Issues

UnitedHealth Group will acquire 2,300 physicians through its purchase of Monarch Healthcare, the largest medical group in California’s Orange County, according to a Wall Street Journal report. UnitedHealth’s business platform Optum will take control of Monarch’s management. Optum, which is…

An administrative law judge has ruled that Ventura County, Calif., must negotiate with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists for county physician contracts, according to a UAPD release.

St. Joseph’s Health System in Atlanta has acquired two vascular practices, adding seven physicians to its staff, according to an Atlanta Business Chronicle report. The system has purchased Georgia Vascular Clinic and The Vascular Institute of Georgia, both located in…

Patient-centered medical homes are popping up in Cleveland, proving to be a viable solution for the area’s shortage of primary care physicians, according to a Cleveland Plain Dealer report. Cleveland Clinic has 16 health centers nationally certified as medical homes.…

Location, location, location. Real estate hounds repeat that refrain to emphasize a major factor behind a property's value. According to Marc Halley, president and CEO of Halley Consulting Group, a physician practice management and consulting firm, the same phrase applies…

White Plains Hospital in Westchester, N.Y., recently acquired White Plains Surgical Specialists, a nine-physician practice, according to a Crain’s Health Pulse report. The practice will join White Plains Hospital Physician Associates, which is now comprised of three physician practices: the…

Convenient care clinics in retail settings are on a sharp incline, as there are currently 1,250 compared to 175 in 2006, according to a USA Today report. Two-thirds of these clinics are in drug stores, while the rest are in…

Berkley Law's Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy has issued a policy brief (pdf) that discusses the impact of accountable care organizations on safety-net hospitals and providers.

IntegraNet, a Houston-based physician network with more than 1,200 primary care and specialty physicians, has applied for the CMS Pioneer ACO Model program, according to a Houston Business Journal report. IntegraNet already operates on many aspects of the ACO model,…

An OB/GYN physician from Salem, Ore., believes Salem Hospital breached a settlement agreement struck in 2009 and is intentionally preventing her practice from growing, according to a Lund Report. Elizabeth Harmon, MD, sued Salem Hospital in 2007, alleging it used…