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Veralon Views Blog

The Veralon Views blog is an extension of our partnership with leaders who are transforming the healthcare industry. Here, we share expert perspectives from our nationally recognized senior consulting team on issues that are key to the success of your organization.

Advanced Practice Clinicians in Medical Staff Planning: Four Factors to Consider

by Molly Johnson, MHSA and Craig Holm, MBA, FACHE

The growth and aging of the U.S. population will significantly increase the demand for medical care over the coming decade. At the same time, the supply of physician services is decreasing as physicians work fewer hours per week, and retirements are likely as more than a third of currently active physicians reach age 65 within […]

5 Strategies for Strengthening Physician Alignment

by Rudd Kierstead, Principal

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There are signs that hospitals’ interest in employing physicians or owning physician practices may be waning—yet the need to align physicians with hospital strategy is perhaps greater than ever. American Medical Association (AMA) research shows that 33 percent of physicians were employed by hospitals or part of hospital-owned practices in 2016. That’s an increase of […]

Evaluating a Partner Pre-LOI: 4 Things to Consider

by Dan Grauman, Managing Director & CEO and Scott Stuecher, Manager

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Seventy-one percent of healthcare leaders expect merger and acquisition (M&A), and other partnership activity to increase over the next three years, according to a HealthLeaders survey. But as hospitals explore consolidation as a strategy for navigating reimbursement, regulatory and market challenges, there is concern that some organizations are rushing the letter-of-intent (LOI) process. An LOI is […]

ACO Pathways to Success: Final Rule Softens Impact

by Amanda Brown and John Harris

CMS published its final rule, the “Pathways to Success” for the Medicare Shared Savings Program, in December 2018. CMS’ overall goal is clear and unchanged from the proposed rule: to put the “accountability” back in accountable care by moving ACOs more quickly to downside risk. While the final rule tracks the proposed rule issued in […]

To Merge or Not to Merge: Informing the Conversation

by Scott Stuecher and Daniel Grauman

“Everyone in the industry is merging. We should be too.” “We’ve always been independent, and we should stay that way.” Independent hospitals continue to merge or affiliate with other hospitals or with health systems. However, independent hospitals still have company. In 2016, the latest year for which information is available, there were about 1,600 independent […]

Checklist: Discussing Onboarding Issues Before Closing a Physician Practice Acquisition

by Rudd Kierstead, Principal

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Many of the reasons why physician practice acquisitions come apart after the deals are finalized fall under the category of “operational incompatibility.” Too often, the team that negotiates the deal is not the same team that is charged with operationalizing the deal. As a result, potential administrative and management problems — from physician appointment schedules […]

Tips for Successfully Handling Physician Compensation During Practice Acquisition

by Stuart J. Schaff, Senior Manager

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Compensation is often a make-or-break deal point in a hospital’s acquisition of a physician practice. Prospective physician employees will naturally compare what they will earn post-acquisition to what they currently earn as practice owners, partners, or employees. From the hospital employer’s perspective, discussions around physician compensation provide important opportunities to win physicians over and to […]

A Successful Practice Acquisition Begins with Due Diligence

by Jessica E. Stack, Senior Manager

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It’s tempting to short-change the due diligence process when acquiring a physician practice. In the heat of a deal, hospital leaders are understandably most interested in determining fair market value (FMV) so they can make the buy decision and set the purchase price. The due diligence process can turn up insights about a physician practice […]

Finding a Partner with the Right Cultural Fit: 4 Strategies

by Meredith Inniger, Manager

Open PDF file > It’s healthcare’s version of dating: sizing up another organization for a potential partnership or merger. Seventy-one percent of healthcare leaders expect their organization’s merger, acquisition, or partnership activity to increase over the next three years. With continued changes to healthcare’s competitive landscape, hospital mergers and acquisitions (M&As) reached a record high […]