How Service Lines Impact HCO Physician Relationships
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In today’s healthcare landscape, the collaboration between healthcare organizations (HCOs) and physicians plays a crucial role in delivering high-quality care to patients. Service lines, which are specialized programs or departments within an HCO, are key components in strengthening the relationship between HCOs and physicians. Service lines help align the goals and objectives of both parties, creating a collaborative environment where providers can work together to improve patient outcomes.
By focusing on specific clinical areas, service lines allow for a more efficient and effective delivery of care, leading to better patient experiences and outcomes. Additionally, service lines provide a platform for HCOs and physicians to share knowledge, resources, and best practices, fostering a culture of teamwork and innovation.
In this article, we will explore the role of service lines in strengthening HCO-physician relationships and the impact they have on delivering patient-centered care.
HCOs and Physicians
A service line is categorization of all services and products that are related to a specific division of the organization (Gee, 2004). For instance, in the hospital set up, there is service line for oncology and another one for pediatrics among others. The relationship between health care organizations (HCO) and the organizations has been problematic, but it is changing, thanks to service lines, protocols and evidence-based medicine. The introduction of the service lines strengthened the bond between the physicians falling in the same specialty and be accountable to the governing board. These service lines contracts include risk sharing, employment and arrangement for joint capital that is far beyond the traditional privileges. With the emergence of the service lines for the specialists, they can work in one division together hence strengthening their bonds. Moreover, each service line is accountable to the governing board hence closely work together to strengthen their relationships (White & Griffith, 2010).
The traditional model in the hospitals where there was free-for-service practice and hospital privileges can be described as a sharing of responsibility, a partnership between the institution and the physicians. In this relationship, every partner, that is the physicians, and the institution contribute and expects to gain something from the relationship. The physicians offer their professional services while the institution offer employment and the necessary equipment and medication for treating the patients (White & Griffith, 2010). However, this is changing since the recent models for healthcare financing recommended an integrated set of reforms where there will be change in the way the nation remunerate the healthcare, reward prudent stewardship of resources and high-quality care and encourage healthcare delivery system reorganization.
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The changes in the financing model of the healthcare institutions have also affected the relationship between the healthcare organizations and the physicians in many ways. The changes have resulted in conflicts considering the liability and the risks when it is the best interest of the patient from the traditional and the known protocol established. The primary care physicians argue that they no longer need the membership for hospital staff or even the hospital privileges in taking care of the patients. White & Griffith (2010) pointed out that the physicians claim that they feel by taking hospital privileges or the medical staff membership, it will drain their time and make it difficult for them financially. It is prudent that the hospital continue holding on the physicians and snot let them drift off from the health care organizations since they are important pillars in the health care sector.
To retain them, the hospitals management need to negotiate with the physicians through their unions. Moreover, the hospitals may hire a chief medical officer to link the health care organizations and the physicians since he or she will represent the interest of the physicians and the management of the organization at the simultaneously (White & Griffith, 2010).
References
Gee, E. P. (2004). Service line success: Eight essential rules. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
NIV Stewardship study Bible. (2009). Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan.
White, K. R., & Griffith, J. R. (2010). The well-managed healthcare organization. Chicago: Health Administration Press.