Collaborations Overview
Management’s strategic review examined Health Management’s customers — our physicians and patients — to determine how best to improve soft patient volumes.
We assessed physician satisfaction across a wide spectrum, and as a result, we established physician leadership councils in our hospitals. These leadership councils, comprised primarily of physicians, offer an even more open dialogue for management to uncover ways to better respond to physician and patient needs and increase the quality of care being delivered.
Collaborative Joint Ventures
In selective markets, we have offered physicians the opportunity to partner with us in collaborative joint ventures. This posture, which extends to the joint venture of certain select Health Management hospitals, includes participation in joint ownership of medical equipment, medical office buildings and diagnostic imaging or surgical centers. Additional strategic joint ventures are expected to be completed in 2007.
Physician Recruiting
In addition, we are also recruiting and retaining physicians through direct employment. Understanding recruiting obstacles such as high malpractice expense premiums and entrenched physician referral patterns, Health Management has turned to the employment of select physicians to address those recurring challenges.