hfm Magazine
Today, hospitals recognize the need for greater physician leadership within their organizations to achieve service line goals and prepare for a post-reform environment. This involvement of physician leadership is critical to helping hospitals prepare for a payment environment in which their financial imperatives are more closely tied to their ability to demonstrate high-quality clinical outcomes, coordinate care across multiple providers, and reduce the overall cost of care. For this reason, unlike in the 1990s, the focus of today’s transactions is on integrating physicians into the organization rather than just acquiring them. This article explains why the goal for each hospital is to develop, at last, a truly integrated delivery system capable of serving as an accountable care organization.