- Assisting in the formation of a single group practice faculty structure.
The objective of this engagement was to assist an academic
medical center in forming a single corporate physician organization from multiple clinical departments to
create a clinical practice with the business, patient care, and financial authorities required for effective
management while sustaining the academic medical center's commitment to its education programs. Specific
activities included: analyzing the need for changing the current arrangements, formulating an
organizational plan to consolidate the multiple corporate structures of the school, and developing the necessary
governing documents to implement the revised arrangement. The project successfully accomplished major structural
and organizational changes within a very restricted time frame.
- Developing an academically centered faculty practice.
The objective of this
project was to assist a large urban academic
medical center in developing an academically centered faculty practice. Its scope included establishing a
mission and a set of attainable goals for the practice, identifying the extent of group authority versus
departmental authority, and developing the organizational governing documents. The outcome of this assignment
was the formation of a more integrated practice structure with the capability of joint business arrangements
with other aspects of the university’s clinical enterprise and the development of a comprehensive system
of patient care.
- Developing a new medical group.
The objective of this engagement was to assist in merging several
medical groups into a single competitive entity. In addition, we assisted the group in assessing merger
and affiliation alternatives with other local physician organizations following group formation. Specific
tasks included developing a strategic plan, including a mission statement, goals, and strategic initiatives;
determining ownership, membership, and governance structures; and assessing affiliation alternatives to address
the group’s long-term strategic needs. As a result of
the engagement, this group of internal medicine
physicians formed a structured medical group that will contract with a management services organization for
administrative services and with an independent practice association for managed care contracting.
- Developing a management services organization (MSO) implementation plan for an academic medical center.
ECG assisted a joint venture between a university-based health system
and an affiliated faculty group practice to develop a comprehensive MSO business plan and implementation plan. The plans addressed the services to be provided by the venture to physician practices;
organization structure and staffing requirements; and implementation of a common billing office using IDX, including
definition of central versus distributed billing functions. This engagement resulted in a detailed plan to foster
the successful implementation of the MSO. ECG was subsequently engaged to provide implementation assistance.
- Creating a physician-owned contracting network.
The objective of this project was to create a contracting network to combine
the managed care contracting efforts of a large multispecialty physician group and independent physicians, as well as
provide managed care support services such as contract administration, data collection and analysis, inpatient case
management, and credentialing. To design the organization, we developed and clarified network purpose and service scope,
determined the organizational governance/ownership structure, and defined the contracting approach and risk-sharing
arrangements. This process resulted in the development of a successful organization that linked a 90-physician multispecialty
group with independent primary care physicians through an effective contracting arrangement.
- Restructuring faculty practice governance and financial arrangements.
ECG was retained by a school of medicine to restructure the governance and financial
frameworks of its faculty practice. We worked with a dean-designated committee of senior faculty and selected chairs to
redefine the multiple objectives of the practice, structure a streamlined governance framework capable of making timely and
informed decisions, and develop an innovative funds flow that aligns the financial objectives of the departments and faculty
and creates a set of common financial objectives. The department chairs unanimously endorsed the task force recommendations,
and the streamlined governance structure and revised funds flow were implemented.
