Integration & Physician Issues

Plagued by decreasing payments and payor changes, many hospitals and ASCs are integrating in order to increase referrals, eliminate competition and share the benefits of payor and purchasing clout. Wayne Miller, JD, of Compliance Law Group in Thousand Oaks, Calif.,…

CMS actuaries said the healthcare reform law won't significantly change national health spending over the next decade, contrary to the Democrats' arguments that the law would bend steep projected increases in healthcare spending, according to a report by the Wall…

Fairview Health Services is way ahead of many other participants in Premier's new Accountable Care Collaborative. The seven-hospital Minneapolis system, with 500 employed physicians, is two years into a shared savings arrangement with Medica, the Minnesota-based health insurer. Next year,…

A panel discussion at the Miami Valley Medical Group Management Association's annual seminar predicted partnerships between hospitals and physicians will be increasingly important to hospital success, according to Dayton Daily News report.

Todd Sagin, MD-JD, national medical director of HG Healthcare Consultants in Laverock, Pa., is coauthor of the book, "Creating the Hospital Group Practice: The Advantages of Employing or Affiliating with Physicians." Here he offers some best practices for hospitals on…

Randy Gott, executive vice president at Southwind Health Partners in Nashville, describes 10 best practices for hospitals to make a physician needs assessment.

Heart Group of the Carolinas, based in Concord, N.C., has merged with Carolinas HealthCare System's Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute in Charlotte, N.C., according to a Charlotte Business Journal report.

Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Ill., has acquired 42-physician multi-specialty group Affinity Healthcare, based in Riverwoods, Ill., according to a Daily Herald report.

Raleigh (N.C.) Cardiology Associates has joined WakeMed Health & Hospitals' WakeMed Faculty Physicians, based in Raleigh, effective Oct. 1, according to a report by NBC 17 News.

Hospitals looking to run accountable care organizations will have to change their business model from admitting as many patients as possible to learning how to reduce expenses, says Donald H. Crane, president and CEO, California Association of Physician Groups.