Steve Berkowitz

The Solution to Patient or Referral “Leakage” Lies in Empowering Primary Care Increasingly, the primary care physician is tasked with the challenge of better utilizing services and specialists currently in their own medical group or network. Reasons to internalize care include the implementation of capitation or other risk products, payor-imposed narrower networks, and the need… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

The Need for Physician Compacts

Posted on by

Steve Berkowitz

Two weeks ago I was in New England, enjoying the beautiful summer and working with a large System in Maine.  In a way, this is homecoming for me as I grew up in Rhode Island.  One of my favorite childhood memories was taking a field trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the Pilgrims landed in 1620. … Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

Beware the Trap of Consensus in Health Care Reform

Posted on by

Steve Berkowitz

I wrote a blog last January talking about the Consensus Trap and how a seemingly sound and preferred interactional process could yield unexpected and detrimental results.  As I stated, consensus is a political agreement.  It is not necessarily based upon the evidentiary process or scientific facts.  It is simply the result of a group of… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

A “Tincture of Time” for Health Care Reform

Posted on by

Steve Berkowitz

… maybe that’s just what the doctor ordered! How many times during the campaign did we hear the Republicans say “repeal and replace” Obamacare on Day One?  I must admit, in the few weeks since the inauguration, I was fully expecting President Trump to sign some executive order summarily repealing the ACA.  Now we hear… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

Medical Staff Interventions: Three Simple Rules

Posted on by

Steve Berkowitz

Almost every chief medical officer (CMO) that I work with in my advisory program has encountered at least one situation in the hospital every year that requires a significant intervention with a member of the medical staff.  Whether the precipitating event is a disruptive physician, an incompetent provider, or simply a sensitive political situation, the… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

Better Managing the Corporate Cram Down

Posted on by

Steve Berkowitz

I was speaking to a chief medical officer the other day who was bemoaning the fact that his corporate office had just issued a policy that he was now required to adopt at his hospital.  This meant discussing the policy with the medical staff and getting their buy in to something that they really couldn’t… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

Skyrocketing Health Care Premiums- More Than Just Obamacare

Posted on by

Steve Berkowitz

The following blog is a continuation of my previous blog, now with reflection of last Tuesday’s election: America got a wake-up call a couple weeks ago.   Health care premiums for 2017 will rise an average of 25%, with people in some states having to pay rate increases of more than 50% or worse yet,… Continue Reading >>