Journal of Healthcare Management - May/June 2014 - (Page 195)

Physician Clinical Alignment and Integration: A Community- Academic Hospital Approach Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, chair, Department of Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, Pennsylvania; Sandra Jarva Weiss, JD, attorney, Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A., Allentown; and Brian Nester, DO, chief strategy officer, and Thomas Whalen, MD, chief medical officer, Lehigh Valley Health Network E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y An overwhelming need for change in the U.S. healthcare delivery system, coupled with the need to improve clinical and financial outcomes, has prompted hospitals to direct renewed efforts toward achieving high quality and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, with the dawn of accountable care organizations and increasing focus on patient expectations, hospitals have begun to seek physician partners through clinical alignment. Contrary to the unsuccessful alignment strategies of the 1990s, today's efforts are more mutually beneficial, driven by the need to achieve better care coordination, increased access to infrastructure, improved quality, and lower costs. In this article, we describe a large, academic, tertiary care hospital's approach to developing and implementing alignment and integration models with its collaborationready physicians and physician groups. We developed four models-short of physicians' employment with the organization-tailored to meet the needs of both the physician group and the hospital: (1) medical directorship (group physicians are appointed to serve as medical directors of a clinical area), (2) professional services agreement (specific clinical services, such as overnight admissions help, are contracted), (3) co-management services agreement (one specialty group co-manages all services within the specialty service lines), and (4) lease arrangement (closest in scope to employment, in which the hospital pays all expenses and receives all revenue). Successful hospital-physician alignment requires careful planning and the early engagement of legal counsel to ensure compliance with federal statutes. Establishing an integrated system with mutually identified goals better positions hospitals to deliver cost-effective and high-quality care under the new paradigm of healthcare reform. For more information about the concepts in this article, contact Dr. Salas-Lopez at debbie.salas-lopez@lvhn.org. 195

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of Healthcare Management - May/June 2014

Journal of Healthcare Management - May/June 2014
Contents
Interview With Christopher D. Van Gorder, FACHE, President and CEO of Scripps Health
Successful Strategic Planning for a Reformed Delivery System
You, Inc.
Assessing the Feasibility of a Virtual Tumor Board Program: A Case Study
Physician Clinical Alignment and Integration: A Community–Academic Hospital Approach
Employer-Based Coverage and Medical Travel Options: Lessons for Healthcare Managers
Composite Model for Profiling Physicians Across Domains of Care

Journal of Healthcare Management - May/June 2014