Hospital/physician relations
A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found higher healthcare prices for outpatient care linked to the financial integration between physicians and hospitals.
Although larger practices may have the resources to provide benefits to patients through better care coordination or access to new technologies, among other things, these practices' greater market power may enable them to charge higher prices than smaller practices, the study authors said.
Instead of taking on hundreds of changes, physician groups often only have the bandwidth to implement a few meaningful and targeted changes.
Last month Broward Health agreed to pay $70 million to settle allegations that it engaged in "improper financial relationships" with doctors under laws prohibiting kickbacks in return for patient referrals.
Healthcare mergers are much more intricate in the post-reform world, as systems are more apt to buy clinics, physician practices and digital tools than hospitals, a new report by Accenture claims.
Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling on Monday said it would cost the healthcare provider, formally known as the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, tens of million of dollars over the next two to three years as the newly named company embarks on a massive campaign to educate the public about its new moniker.
Ownership by a hospital "dramatically increases" odds that a doctor will admit patients there instead of another, nearby hospital, researchers found.
Nine ACOs that partner with CHS generated $27 million in the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
Many doctors who initiate the discussions often do so on their own dime.
As hospitals acquire physician practices, administrators must be less "hospital centric" when it comes to setting benchmarks and reporting quality.