Description
My course is Financial Management of HealthCare Organizations.
Discussion Board-Module 5:
In the outside reading article, "Financing Your Strategic Plan: Find the Right Tool for the Right Job", the authors suggest one method of financing a physician-hospital integration is to consider a co-management model which seeks to make hospitals and physicians “partners” in a serious effort to improve performance within specific service lines or facilities. Briefly discuss what is meant by this term and its advantages and disadvantages of such an arrangement.
My first classmate :
Physician-hospital integration is when physicians identify with health systems and work toward accomplishing goals together with the affiliated health system. The relationship between physicians and hospitals is often defined based on necessity- hospitals cannot function without physicians. However, not all physicians need to rely on hospitals because they can own their clinics. Due to the economic environment and after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, more and more physicians are integrating with hospitals. Studies show that between 2012 and 2015, the number of physicians employed by hospitals increased by roughly 50%. The article “Financing Your Strategic Plan” suggests that aligning both clinical and financial interests is important when developing an integration plan because both policies and payment methods regularly change (Budetti, Shortell, Waters, Alexander, Burns, Gillies & Zuckerman, 2002)
According to research, due to physician-hospital integration, a few benefits have been enhanced coordination of care and patient safety, decreased duplication of diagnostic testing and increased utilization of hospital equipment and floor space (Zhang, 2016). Nowadays, many physicians work together on the care of patients due to the complexity of modern illnesses. This coordination of care has enhanced effects in hospitals that employ physicians of various specialties. Therefore, encouraging physicians and hospitals to work together could reduce the amount of money spent. Lastly, integration can increase the use of equipment and floor space. Unused hospital equipment is a loss of money; if there is integration and if different physicians work together, it can streamline utilization of resources while giving the physicians an opportunity to make more money (Zhang, 2016).
References
https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.21.1.203 (Links to an external site.)
My second classmate :
The authors of this article review four different strategic plans for healthcare entities that wish to acquire new capital at the lowest possible cost. One of those plans is the physician-hospital integration plan. Co-management simply means the process of dealing with, regulating or controlling things. Comanagement then, implies the same process, but instead of the governing entity being limited to one group of people or one party, the governing body is ruled by two or more parties. Thus, in this particular case, those two entities would doctors and the administrators of a hospital.
The advantages to this is that it involves doctors and other healthcare providers, who are the backbone and most important asset of the hospital as they produce the revenue. Working more closely with them allows for greater collaboration and communication which in turns leads to greater efficiency. This approach then aligns itself with the notion of moving away from volume-based care to value-based care, or ACOs as the author points out. The drawback is that many physicians are not interested or qualified to do or deal much of the administrative issues. Acquiring a new private practice or a new plant asset can be daunting enough for administrators, imagine doctors doing the same.
Whatever the case may be, I see physician-hospital comanagement more as a positive aspect than a negative one. It broadens the perspective of both the doctors and the administrators which in turn allows for a better problem-solving approach than that of the two parties working independently in silos.
Source:
Respond to at least 2 classmate (appx. 50 - 75 words).
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Outline
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
References
Running head: PHYSICIAN-HOSPITAL INTEGRATION
Physician-hospital integration plan
Student’s Name
Course Number – Name of Course
University Name
Instructor’s Name
Date
1
PHYSICIAN-HOSPITAL INTEGRATION
2
Post: Physician-hospital integration plan
Physician-hospital integration is an arrangement whereby physician organizations and
hospital agrees to work together. It is a financial model which has been adopted by physicians
and ho...
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