hfm Magazine
Health systems that just a few years ago were unsure whether they wanted to employ physicians now find a long line of medical groups at their doors, looking for the shelter of employment. The increased volume of physicians desiring hospital employment conflicts with the scarcity of the human and financial resources required to complete transactions and successfully bring physicians on board. Moreover, acquiring physician practices too rapidly increases the risk for failure due to operational and financial resource constraints. This article presents the FAST Matrix, a tool that hospitals may use to carefully and consistently evaluate the strategic alignment and financial benefits of affiliation with a physician practice in order to prioritize potential acquisition opportunities.