With health reform in the air, there has been a lot of talk about creating integrated systems, which bring hospitals together with physicians and other resources in order to achieve better health outcomes and improved efficiencies.
While others talk about it, Conemaugh Health System in Johnstown, Pa., is already starting down the road to integration. Scott Becker, Conemaugh's president and CEO, explains his vision for Conemaugh and what the organization has been doing to achieve it.
Q: Explain why Conemaugh wants to become an integrated system.
Scott Becker: We look at health reform and see the writing on the wall. Proposals like bundling payments for inpatient and outpatient care will require an integrated system to carry them out. We believe this is going to happen, regardless of whether Congress passes health reform. Many of these proposals have been put forth in President Obama's budget. These changes are on their way.
Q: Where are you at in the integration process?
SB: I like to say it's easier to be integrated than to become integrated. The Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic are already there, but we have to go through the process, which is fairly complicated and time-consuming.
Already there are 130 physicians who are part of Conemaugh Health System. We were selective about who came on board. These physicians are among the most active on our staff. At our three hospitals, we have a medical staff of about 400 doctors, but 200-225 do the bulk of the work and the 130 physicians are part of this group.
Conemaugh's chief medical officer, David Carlson, DO, was CMO for the Ochsner Clinic, an integrated system in New Orleans. We have also sought advice from St. John's Clinic,which has formed an integrated system with St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Mo. Representatives from St. John's have met with our doctors to discuss how an integrated system works.
Our 130 integrated doctors have set up an organization called Conemaugh Physician Group. It has a new board, called CPG-9, that is made up of nine representatives from the practices. We are still in the process of choosing organizational models. Basically, the choice is between a foundation model and a clinic model, which have different legal and financial requirements. Our three hospitals will form one organization that complements CPG, and both organizations will report to a unified board.
Q: Hospitals have bought up practices before, often to their regret. What makes it different this time?
SB: The first wave of practice acquisitions was basically a bust because hospitals paid too much for them and they weren't sufficiently integrated into the system. A hospital would buy 100 different practices and have 100 different businesses, each functioning in its own way.
In our new system, by contrast, the doctors will be fully integrated into Conemaugh Physician Group. CPG formulates a unified strategy for all the physicians, based on physician input through the CPG board.
Q: But aren't they employed physicians?
SB: We see them as partners. We want CPG to develop policy and be an integral part of the system.
Q: Are other physicians in the community interested in joining CPG?
SB: Lots of physicians like to do their own thing, but in our opinion they are mom-and-pop businesses operating in a Wal-Mart world. They have little leverage with third-party payors. The younger physicians realize they have to be part of something bigger. That's the type of physician we are recruiting.
Learn more about Conemaugh Health System.
While others talk about it, Conemaugh Health System in Johnstown, Pa., is already starting down the road to integration. Scott Becker, Conemaugh's president and CEO, explains his vision for Conemaugh and what the organization has been doing to achieve it. Q: Explain why Conemaugh wants to become an integrated system.
Scott Becker: We look at health reform and see the writing on the wall. Proposals like bundling payments for inpatient and outpatient care will require an integrated system to carry them out. We believe this is going to happen, regardless of whether Congress passes health reform. Many of these proposals have been put forth in President Obama's budget. These changes are on their way.
Q: Where are you at in the integration process?
SB: I like to say it's easier to be integrated than to become integrated. The Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic are already there, but we have to go through the process, which is fairly complicated and time-consuming.
Already there are 130 physicians who are part of Conemaugh Health System. We were selective about who came on board. These physicians are among the most active on our staff. At our three hospitals, we have a medical staff of about 400 doctors, but 200-225 do the bulk of the work and the 130 physicians are part of this group.
Conemaugh's chief medical officer, David Carlson, DO, was CMO for the Ochsner Clinic, an integrated system in New Orleans. We have also sought advice from St. John's Clinic,which has formed an integrated system with St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Mo. Representatives from St. John's have met with our doctors to discuss how an integrated system works.
Our 130 integrated doctors have set up an organization called Conemaugh Physician Group. It has a new board, called CPG-9, that is made up of nine representatives from the practices. We are still in the process of choosing organizational models. Basically, the choice is between a foundation model and a clinic model, which have different legal and financial requirements. Our three hospitals will form one organization that complements CPG, and both organizations will report to a unified board.
Q: Hospitals have bought up practices before, often to their regret. What makes it different this time?
SB: The first wave of practice acquisitions was basically a bust because hospitals paid too much for them and they weren't sufficiently integrated into the system. A hospital would buy 100 different practices and have 100 different businesses, each functioning in its own way.
In our new system, by contrast, the doctors will be fully integrated into Conemaugh Physician Group. CPG formulates a unified strategy for all the physicians, based on physician input through the CPG board.
Q: But aren't they employed physicians?
SB: We see them as partners. We want CPG to develop policy and be an integral part of the system.
Q: Are other physicians in the community interested in joining CPG?
SB: Lots of physicians like to do their own thing, but in our opinion they are mom-and-pop businesses operating in a Wal-Mart world. They have little leverage with third-party payors. The younger physicians realize they have to be part of something bigger. That's the type of physician we are recruiting.
Learn more about Conemaugh Health System.