Trends in Healthcare: Merger, Acquisition, and Consolidation

Healthcare merger, acquisition, and consolidation skyrocketed in 2015, setting a $563 billion record. For 2016, there are no indicators that healthcare organizations are letting up on the gas. Hospitals are doing less outright buying and selling, and instead larger facilities are creating partnerships, affiliates, and joint ventures with smaller hospitals. The managed care sector has been on an acquisition binge since the Supreme Court affirmed that all Americans are entitled to tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, and physician practices have been snatched up by physician management companies at lightning speed.

This trend is part of a larger picture of the changing landscape of healthcare delivery. By 2012, only 18 percent of physicians were in a solo practice, down from 41 percent in 1983. Over the past decade, hospital-owned physician practices have tripled, to 75 percent. About 60 percent of the time, physicians approach hospitals as potential buyers. The same percentage of sellers cite overhead costs as a motivational factor, while 44 percent say that cuts in reimbursement played a role in their decision to sell. Hospitals wishing to expand capacity within a medical specialty or that simply need more doctors to meet patient demand welcome this ripe market.

In the midst of these ownership changes, healthcare administrators are feeling the squeeze. A healthcare merger, acquisition, or consolidation demands efficient onboarding and seamless knowledge transfers, which can be made more difficult when looming changes trigger employee disengagement and a decrease in productivity. The resulting push for streamlined operations often requires combining departments with similar or aligned functions, cutting redundant staff members, and delivering the same services without sacrificing quality.

MDsyncNET helps to ensure smooth transitions by putting mechanisms in place that increase efficiency. For example, with our Medical Staff Services module, policies and procedures are readily accessible, medical staff documents can be easily managed, and the credentialing process is accelerated. By enabling real-time updates of staff and department contact information, our Phone Directories module – accessible from any Internet connection – ensures that the right staff member can be instantly reached.

The surge in ownership changes presents fresh challenges to already beleaguered administrators. MDsyncNET bridges transition gaps, provides a stable gateway for onboarding personnel, and supports cost-efficient, streamlined operations.