New Book on Physician Integration & Alignment from CRC Press

Nov. 7, 2012 - PRLog -- Today, with physician and hospital reimbursement being cut and tied to quality incentives, physicians and health plans are revisiting the concept of integration. Payers are demanding that the industry do more with less without sacrificing quality of care. As a result, physicians again find themselves integrating and aligning with hospitals that have the resources they lack or must develop together.

Written by an acknowledged expert in the field of physician integration and managed care contracting, Physician Integration & Alignment: IPA, PHO, ACOs, and Beyond examines physician integration and alignment in the current healthcare market. It outlines the common characteristics of integrated groups and various organizational structures, and also explains how you can avoid making the same mistakes of the past. Filled with suggestions and ideas from successfully integrated practices, the book:

Identifies industry drivers for the resurgence of integrated models and the need for aligned models
Provides a look at the common characteristics of integrated and aligned groups and how the components can work together
Discusses antitrust and other regulatory concerns present when considering the right organizational and management structure
Offers time- and money-saving checklists, lessons learned, models, and templates—saving you thousands of dollars in consulting fees

Maria K. Todd provides readers with the vision and practical tools needed to organize their business entities in a manner that will maximize economic clout and provide quality of care for both the hospital and physician group. This much-needed resource includes helpful insights on topics such as declining physician reimbursement, declining margins, physician shortages, physician-hospital competition, rising practice investment requirements, the return to capitation as a payment mechanism, and recent changes in the relationships between physicians and health systems.

Maria currently is the principle of the largest globally integrated health delivery system in the world with over 6,000 hospitals and 85,000 physicians spanning 95 countries. She has developed more than 200 integrated and aligned IPAs, PHOs, ACOs, MSOs and healthcare clusters in her career.

About the Author

Maria K. Todd has been involved in the healthcare industry for most of her working life. She has maintained an independent consulting practice since 1986 and has offered guidance to thousands of clients worldwide in the domains of managed care, healthcare revenue cycle, hospital and medical group administration, physician employment contracting, organizational development, medical tourism, healthcare benefits management, and value-based purchasing.

With her multifocal background and education as a healthcare business administrator, health law paralegal, surgical nurse, HMO provider relations coordinator and certified mediator, and a licensed insurance producer, she has expertise in niche areas such as full-risk capitation, managed-care contracting, and negotiating on behalf of payers, providers, and employers. She brings a wealth of specialized knowledge to the development, implementation, and operation of IPAs, PHOs, MSOs, and other integrated health delivery systems. She draws upon this extensive experience to bring value to physician groups, boards of directors, and ministries of health in more than thirty countries as a teacher, author, speaker, and consultant.

For More Information Please Visit:
http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439813089

ISBN 9781439813089, November 2012, 260 pp