Piedmont Healthcare and WellStar Health System will partner to save costs. The two hospital networks will create the Georgia Health Collaborative to share clinical care best practices and leverage economies of scale for better pricing on supplies and insurance reimbursement. The joint venture, sources say, could foreshadow a possible acquisition, but both Piedmont and WellStar executives waved off acquisition speculation. "We are not going to rule anything out down the road," Greg Hurst, interim president and chief operating officer at Piedmont Healthcare, said. "It's a rapidly transitioning healthcare environment."
