Four senior healthcare executives open up about their searches for contractual relationships ranging from mergers and acquisitions, to partnerships and joint ownership agreements.
When providers engage in contractual relationships, they primarily fall in the merger and acquisition model. But other types of arrangements, such as joint ownership agreements and partnerships are not uncommon.
The path toward identifying the right business arrangement can take time and a great deal of effort. Four senior healthcare executives recently discussed their experiences the HealthLeaders magazine.
"Each acquisition gets easier than the last," said Robert Shapiro, executive VP and CFO of Northwell Health (formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System) in Great Neck, NY. "After you've done this enough times—the due diligence, the partnering, bringing two organizations together—you develop a sense of what we need to look at. There are fewer surprises down the road."
"I believe that there are more opportunities for regional collaboration than there have ever been in the past," said Jerry Birk, VP of Business Planning and Strategic Development at Rideout Health in Yuba City, CA. "The underlying premise is that we all have issues and problems, but often they are shared problems"
For Ministry Health in Appleton WI, a catholic organization freestanding Catholic hospitals in its lineage, "Cultural fit has always been the most important element of selecting partners for us," says Larry Sobal, VP of care transitions.
See Also:
The Affiliation Option: Half Step or Future State?
Lena J. Weiner is an associate editor at HealthLeaders Media.