Define the concept of an “integrated physician model.” To define the concept of integrated physician model you first have to understand the importance of clinical integration in the strategic planning process. In order to do this I have to demonstrate the understanding of the dynamics and controversies of dealing with ACO’s (accountable care organizations). This will then pave the way for me to explain other approaches to pertinent issues with ACO’s within our current health systems. I will explain both advantages and disadvantages with one model for integration. Integrated physician model is the outcome of partnerships between hospitals, clinics, and physicians that has been developed over time. It was thought that this venture was actually developed through several other ventures that have all connected through one main goal. Any organization that had the goal to be able to actively communicate with another facility, any nursing home, hospital, physician offices, etc. would have to start small with just one step to acquire the next facility or physician. Clinical integration can really be broken down into four pieces. It gets broken down into collaborative leadership, aligned incentives, clinical programs, and technology infrastructure. The first piece of the puzzle is the collaborative leadership which pulls the governance body, compliant legal structure, payer strategy, and culture change. Clinical integrated care is physician compensation, program infrastructure, and physician support. Clinical integrated care is the hands on portions in disease programs, clinical, population health, and care regulations. Technology infrastructure includes health information exchange, disease registry, patient portal, and patient longitudinal records. These four major pieces of the puzzle are not perfect, but they have paved a nice foundation for physicians, clinics, hospitals, and other facilities while being in a position to support future advances in the clinical integration process. Where you have change you have struggles. ACO’s continually have to follow new policies, but will they? Can they stay in an unbiased accountability? How will new policies effect care? How will this effect basic access to care? In the United States we are in the beginning steps of the health care reform. We cannot say if it will impact us positively or negatively yet, due to the lack of data so far. As the people who need care and easy access to care, we have to be ready for more changes to come and be prepared for the impact it may have on us. If you look at countries around us like Canada, who have a healthcare system that takes care of all its people no matter what, I agree that we should too have this kind of system. Why do we have access and availability for those who have money and great insurance when it is needed but yet we let those who need the assistance slip between the cracks because they may not have the insurance that reimburses at the highest rate or.

1. Define the concept of an “integrated physician model.” To
define the concept of integrated physician model you first have
to understand the importance of clinical integration in the
strategic planning process. In order to do this I have to
demonstrate the understanding of the dynamics and
controversies of dealing with ACO’s (accountable care
organizations). This will then pave the way for me to explain
other approaches to pertinent issues with ACO’s within our
current health systems. I will explain both advantages and
disadvantages with one model for integration.
Integrated physician model is the outcome of partnerships
between hospitals, clinics, and physicians that has been
developed over time. It was thought that this venture was
actually developed through several other ventures that have all
connected through one main goal. Any organization that had the
goal to be able to actively communicate with another facility,
any nursing home, hospital, physician offices, etc. would have
to start small with just one step to acquire the next facility or
physician.
Clinical integration can really be broken down into four
pieces. It gets broken down into collaborative leadership,
aligned incentives, clinical programs, and technology
infrastructure. The first piece of the puzzle is the collaborative
leadership which pulls the governance body, compliant legal
structure, payer strategy, and culture change. Clinical integrated
care is physician compensation, program infrastructure, and
physician support. Clinical integrated care is the hands on
portions in disease programs, clinical, population health, and
care regulations. Technology infrastructure includes health
information exchange, disease registry, patient portal, and
patient longitudinal records.
These four major pieces of the puzzle are not perfect, but
they have paved a nice foundation for physicians, clinics,

2. hospitals, and other facilities while being in a position to
support future advances in the clinical integration process.
Where you have change you have struggles. ACO’s continually
have to follow new policies, but will they? Can they stay in an
unbiased accountability? How will new policies effect care?
How will this effect basic access to care?
In the United States we are in the beginning steps of the
health care reform. We cannot say if it will impact us positively
or negatively yet, due to the lack of data so far. As the people
who need care and easy access to care, we have to be ready for
more changes to come and be prepared for the impact it may
have on us. If you look at countries around us like Canada, who
have a healthcare system that takes care of all its people no
matter what, I agree that we should too have this kind of
system. Why do we have access and availability for those who
have money and great insurance when it is needed but yet we let
those who need the assistance slip between the cracks because
they may not have the insurance that reimburses at the highest
rate or they cannot pay a bill? As the general population we are
in a world set up for failure, we have so much debt, we do not
actively assist those who need health coverage, we charge
outrageous amounts for our people to go get a higher education,
not to mention charge the parents of the youth for their
schooling, and we are being pushed out of the era that we
depend on ourselves into a society that depends on electronics
and others for everything.
No insurance, you get a tax penalty at the tax return time.
No money, you get charged for not paying enough taxes. No
money to pay for health insurance but too much money to get
lower cost insurance, why do we make our people decide
between health insurance or food? That money could go to
diapers or formula for a child, it could go to a month’s worth of
fuel to get you to and from work, that money could even go to
basic needs like a home, water, and electricity. Now have a
person who is in this situation who has a pre-existing condition
like cancer or COPD. They have medical needs that cannot be

3. met and they have to decide if they get treatment or if they feed
their child. We live in an impossible world in the standards of
the reform act.
If we look at hospital-physician integration most will look
for the advantages before the disadvantages under the equity
based ventures model. These ventures are between hospitals and
their physicians and they have shown that it improves clinical
treatments while enhancing communications between the two.
Now they have failed to succeed in areas like trust and
contribution of capital. They have tried to prevent these
problems but when doing so all parties involved must come to
an agreement on the end goal, the strategic direction, and the
financial performance. Typically the board regulations and
facility policies prevent such issues from arising.
To recap the major advantages and disadvantages for the
hospital physician integration it comes down to the facility. It
can take so many forms and it really depends on the facility, the
physicians, and the end goal. Hospitals can write term contracts
to succeed in managed care organizations, while this does not
mean it will lead to ownership or greater market share but it
tends to be growing in popularity. This typically allows the
providers to have more free time rather than having to focus on
the business end of a facility.
Here I have given a very brief description of the integrated
physician model, I have given some insight into the importance
of clinical integration in strategic planning processes. I have
demonstrated my understanding in the controversies of ACO’s
while discussing approaches to current issues with the
healthcare reform. I chose the model of hospital physician
integration to discuss.
References
4 steps for successful hospital-physician integration. (2014,
March 28). Retrieved April 30, 2018, from
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/4-steps-for-
successful-hospital- physician-integration

4. Harrison, J. P. (2016). Essentials of strategic planning in
healthcare (2nd ed.). [Kaplan]. Retrieved from
https://kaplan.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781567937916/
Key Issues and Strategies for Physician Integration. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 30, 2018, from
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-
physician-relationships/key-issues-and- strategies-for-
physician-integration.html
Physician-Hospital Organization (PHO) //. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 30, 2018, from
https://www.healthlawyers.org/hlresources/Health-Law-
Wiki/Physician-Hospital- Organization-(PHO).aspx
S. (n.d.). ASC E-Weekly. Retrieved April 30, 2018, from
https://www.beckersasc.com/e- weeklies/archived-
eweeklies.html
2
UNIT 5 ASSIGNMENT
The first think I would do is introduce myself as the healthcare
administrator. The second thing I would do is persuade all
involved to go into another room so they are not upsetting the
rest of my residents. Individuals who are memory-impaired can
get upset or worse quite easily and for some it is very difficult
to calm them down.
I can empathize with the out of town family members, however,
I am unable to give them any information if they are not listed
on the HIPAA authorization form. In order for the family
members to get any type of information, they will need to talk
to the individual who is authorized as the Power of Attorney.
We cannot break HIPAA and I am not willing to let our facility
get fined for breaking the law. Although the visiting family

5. member (we will call her Martha) claims she is a supervisor for
the Department of Health and Human Services, it does not mean
she is. Even if Martha is a supervisor, by her threatening to
have my facility surveyed because I did not do what she
demanded, shows me what type of a person she is. I would
continue to refuse providing any information, make sure my
staff knows that Martha is not authorized to receive any
information, and contact the Power of Attorney. Finally, I
would call the Department of Health and Human Services and
file a complaint against Martha and her threats.
When I worked in a nursing home, we had to make sure that we
did not give out any information to a family member that was
not on the authorization form. If we did, we not only got a
verbal talking to, we also got written up.
References
Dye, F., C. (2010). Leadership in Healthcare: Essential Values
and Skills, Second Edition, 2nd
Edition. [Kaplan]. Retrieved from
https://kaplan.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781567933550/
Guttmacher Institute. (2017). An Overview of Minors’ Consent
Law | Guttmacher Institute.
Retrieved from
https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-
minors-consent-law