Hospital/physician relations

The reasons for aligning with a hospital are changing, which makes integration even more complicated.

Hundreds of healthcare workers at California's Kaiser Permanente facilities walked off the job this week, striking over a lack of staffing by the hospital operator that they say is affecting care for mentally ill patients.

As new owners of physician practices, many health systems are on a mission to integrate clinics with their hospitals.

The "medical home" concept has become counterproductive. It is muddling the debate about how to improve medical care without raising costs, and it is punishing primary care clinics.

While many of the industry trends and administrative concerns that large hospitals face affect other providers, such as family practice managers, there are a few subtle differences you should know.

While prices have increased everywhere, the rate of increase was much lower at hospitals in states using the site.

The Washington State Hospital Association this week launched a transparency website, giving the public access to information and ratings on the services it provides.

Walgreens said it is cutting ties with two accountable care organizations, though the nation's largest pharmacy chain has also launched a new partnership on the West Coast to help manage ACO patients.

Our job in healthcare is to identify the at-risk populations we encounter, and the information, tools, and behaviors we need to mobilize to seal the cracks and effectively transfer patient information among the members of the patient's healthcare team.

Leaders at California's Daughters of Charity Health System are scrambling to lock up its controversial acquisition by Prime Healthcare despite a union and government protest that's intent on quashing the deal.