Independent Heartbeats:
Our monthly newsletter designed to help independent cardiologists keep pace with the latest news and insights… in under 5 minutes.
Private equity’s role in private practices continues to garner headlines and discussions. At CardioOne we’re hearing of more and more physicians wanting to leave hospital and corporately owned practice and regain their independence. However, reimbursements remain higher for outpatient hospital facilities than for independent sites of care.
Management services organizations, with private equity funding, give cardiologists a leg up and bargaining power. When working with the right partner, independent cardiologists can maintain control over their practice, while benefiting from the expertise and management solutions an MSO can offer.
This month, we explore the private practice landscape and offer advice for keeping your practice running strong.
Let’s dive in.
Industry Buzz: Hot Topics in Independent Practice
- New Report: Private Equity-Affiliated Physician Practices Associated with Lower Medicare Expenditures, Fewer Inpatient Days, and Fewer Emergency Department Visits
- At a glance: Medicare expenses were lower for patients seen in private physician practices affiliated with private equity when compared to hospital-affiliated practices. The report also found patients in PE-affiliated practices had fewer inpatient days as well.
- What you should know: We’ve seen an increase in corporate and hospital models for private practice, but those models don’t appear to improve patient care or lower costs. Working with a PE-backed management services organization can help clinicians maintain independence, provide high-quality care, and reduce overall healthcare costs.
- What physicians and medical practices need to know about MSOs
- At a glance: MSOs have become popular for practices to help combat rising costs and financial pressure of maintaining independence. This article reviews the basics of MSOs and their offerings.
- What you should know: As practices face Medicare reimbursement cuts, staff turnover, payer negotiations, and other challenges of running a business MSOs, help relieve some of the burden. Private practice partnerships with MSOs will likely continue to increase as more and more physicians look to transition from employed roles to private practice.
- Is private practice collapsing? Congress can help stem the tide
- At a glance: Fewer physicians work in private practice today than a decade ago. The American Medical Association reviews the role Congress can play in supporting independent practitioners.
- What you should know: But the desire of clinicians to leave hospital employed roles may be changing that dynamic. However, financial models and regulations have served to drive doctors from private practice. Legislation in Congress can help address these challenges to better support clinicians.
CardioOne Team Spotlight
Revenue Cycle Success: How Independent Cardiologists Can Tackle Front-End RCM Issues
Building and maintaining a consistent revenue stream is a challenge for many private practices. Many issues with claims denials or delayed reimbursement happen because of errors in front-end revenue cycle management. CardioOne’s Quennel Kappenman shares her advice for addressing five common challenges in front-end RCM.
Cardiology Practice Insights
Forging a Noncompete Policy That Works for Healthcare
The FTC’s new rules for noncompete clauses remain tied up in litigation. A measured approach to these clauses can provide more fairness to physicians and provider organizations, without sacrificing patient care. Jasen Gundersen, MD, shares four tips for rethinking noncompete clauses.
Redefining Independence: Sharing the Independent Practice Perspective
CardioOne recently co-sponsored a webinar with MedAxiom to talk about how cardiologists maintain independence. Our CEO Jasen Gundersen, MD, spoke alongside four independent cardiologists and practice owners about the current landscape and their decision to remain in private practice.
CardioOne Partners with DeepScribe to Bring Cardiology-specific Ambient AI to Practices
Physicians in CardioOne’s network will be able to access DeepScribe, an ambient AI clinical documentation tool. This technology automatically documents key elements of cardiology notes, allowing clinicians to be fully present with their patients.
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That’s it for this month. We’ll be back with more news and insights in the cardiology space, curated specifically for independent cardiologists. Interested in learning more about CardioOne and how we’re supporting independent cardiologists in the shift to value? Email me directly at [email protected] or book time with us.
