Does More Financial Pressure on Hospitals Signal the Return of Questionable Medical Directorships?
Category: Medical Group Minute
Each negotiation has its own timing, not one set by a standard recipe or by a clock on the wall or on the calendar, but one that can be, and should be, set by you.
In a move reminiscent of prohibition-era crime fighter Eliot Ness, the U.S. Department of Justice recently announced a coordinated enforcement action against 345 alleged healthcare criminals, including over 100 physicians and other licensed (for now) healthcare professionals, in 51 judicial districts.
We used to joke about the name of Midway Hospital, an acute care hospital in L.A., saying that it was midway between life and death.
Another week, another hospital closes. Well, at least one.
It is a crime, a violation of antitrust law, to conspire to allocate a market, thus driving up the price. It is particularly egregious when the conspiracy involves the market for medical care for cancer treatment.
Ah, the shiny object, the more or less instant gratification.
Quick quiz: If a patient or a payor has the choice of having a procedure performed (A) on a hospital inpatient basis, or (B) on an outpatient basis, then, assuming it's safe to perform that procedure on that patient in either setting, at which setting will it be performed?
Adopting a purely defensive position can never advance your or your medical group’s future.
There's nothing wrong with the notion of getting a little bit better each day, month or year. That is, if you discount the fact that improving the current structure of your group might keep you from getting where you really could be.
