Our Senior Vice Presidents Robert Minkin and Mark Dubow share their thoughts on pursuing bundled payments in this very informative article published by HFMA’s Strategic Financial Planning newsletter.

Our Senior Vice President Robert Minkin was interviewed regarding hospital employment.

From Becker’s Hospital Review:

Hospitals today are increasingly employing physicians for a variety of reasons, including the desire to gain more control over referrals and to be prepared for movement towards the accountable care model.  However, some specialties are markedly more sought after than others. Primary care, cardiology and surgical specialties such as neurosurgery and orthopedics are particularly attractive.

1. Primary care. The impending move toward accountable care within the healthcare landscape is a strong reason for hospitals to enlist primary care providers. With ACOs, a core concept is that the ACO shares in savings with Medicare. To qualify to be an ACO, an organization must have 5,000 or more beneficiaries managed by primary care physicians. The primary care physicians will oversee the management of care and direct services. As such, many hospitals looking to develop ACOs are working to build up their primary care provider base.

For the full article, click here:  http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/3-medical-specialties-most-pursued-for-employment-by-hospitals.html

Our Senior Vice President Robert Minkin was recently interviewed by Becker’s Hospital Review on best practices for bundled pricing. 

From Becker’s Hospital Review:

Healthcare reform has created an impetus for hospitals and other healthcare providers to work together to provide more efficient, higher quality care. These efforts are likely to take many forms, and the use of bundled payments specifically for acute-care episodes is almost certain to be among them as it is already being piloted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Bundled payments provide global payments rather than fee-for-service payments, typically for a certain episode of care, and most bundled payment programs allow for gainsharing among providers of any savings created.   

Read the full article here:  http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/3-best-practices-for-bundled-pricing-from-cms-ace-demonstration-project-participants.html

Bundled payment is one of several CMS pilot projects for payment reform designed to achieve clinical and financial integration between physicians and hospitals, leading to enhanced quality and reduced costs.  The process of care redesign associated with managing effectively within a global payment (Part A and Part B) can be an early stepping stone to developing more comprehensive models of care integration, such as an accountable care organization (“ACO”)…

Click here for the complete article written by Senior Vice President Mark Dubow, MBA and Senior Advisor Robert Minkin, MBA which was published by CA Healthcare News in their June 2010 issue.

 Robert A. Minkin, former CEO of Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital, to serve as senior advisor to consulting firm

Los Angeles, California, May 18, 2010—The Camden Group, one of the nation’s leading healthcare business advisory firms, today announced that it is adding Robert A. Minkin, former CEO of Denver-based Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital, to its growing team of healthcare industry experts.  In recent months, The Camden Group has been steadily expanding its senior leadership team to better serve its clients, particularly in light of changes anticipated with healthcare reform.   Minkin will focus on assisting hospitals and health systems explore and undertake the bundled payment model for their service lines to demonstrate greater value while managing costs.

Under Minkin’s leadership as president and CEO, Exempla Saint Joseph won the bid to participate in a three-year CMS Acute Care Episode (“ACE”) demonstration project to “bundle” payments to hospitals and physicians.   Exempla Saint Joseph is one of four hospitals with cardiac programs to participate in the pilot demonstration.

 “Bob Minkin is one of only a handful of people who really understands how to implement bundled payments to create value for an organization and its patients,” said Steve Valentine, president of The Camden Group.  “His firsthand experience and unparalleled expertise will help guide our clients to succeed in this new era for healthcare.”

This recent news follows The Camden Group’s announcement earlier this year that James R. Smith, FACHE, the former CEO of Greater Rochester Independent Physicians Association (“GRIPA”) and Regional President of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield for the Central New York region, joined the firm to lead its new office in Rochester, New York.  As senior vice president, Smith heads up the firm’s advisory services related to clinical integration and developing accountable care organizations.   GRIPA was one of the first in the nation to receive a favorable advisory opinion from the FTC on their clinical integration program.

“The Camden Group is very well-respected and has a long history of success with their clients,” said Minkin.  “I am thrilled to have this opportunity to help provide innovative solutions to the challenges hospitals and health systems are currently facing.  The healthcare industry is rapidly changing, and there are many opportunities for visionary organizations to succeed. The Camden Group can help those organizations get there. ”  

Prior to Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital, Minkin served as the chief operating officer and executive vice president for St. Joseph Hospital, a 448-bed tertiary care medical center in Orange, California.   He also served as CEO for Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, California for eight years.   Additionally, Minkin has held senior positions at other healthcare facilities, including Riverside Community Hospital, Riverside, California; Memorial Hospitals Association, Modesto, California; Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California; and Community Hospital of Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa, California.

About The Camden Group

With offices in California, Illinois, and New York, The Camden Group is one of the nation’s leading healthcare business advisory firms. The firm provides a broad array of healthcare consulting services in areas ranging from strategic and business planning and financial advisory and compliance, to hospital operations improvement, hospital/physician alignment, clinical integration, and developing accountable care organizations. Since its founding in 1970, The Camden Group has advised more than 1,000 hospitals, medical groups, outpatient facilities, and other healthcare organizations nationwide. For more information, visit us online at www.TheCamdenGroup.com.

Contact:

Sarita Choy, Marketing/Communications Coordinator

The Camden Group

310.320.3990

schoy@thecamdengroup.com

www.thecamdengroup.com