Boston-based Partners HealthCare will hold off on its plans to merge Melrose, Mass.-based Hallmark Health System into its system, according to a post by Partners President and CEO Gary Gottlieb, MD, on the system's website.
"Partners and the leadership at HHS agree that it is time to take a pause as we reflect on next steps," Dr. Gottlieb wrote. "We will continue our conversations about how best to work together in the future."
The announcement came one day after Partners and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy filed a joint motion in Suffolk Superior Court stating Partners was abandoning a deal to acquire South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass.
Although the future of the deal between Partners and Highmark Health is uncertain, Dr. Gottlieb said Partners' main objective "will continue to be to improve care coordination" for its patients.
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