Consider partial unification of medical staffs

For some hospital systems, unifying medical staffs isn’t always the best option. In such situations, perhaps partial unification might be a better choice.

“Partial unification refers to a status where multiple medical staffs continue to be maintained in a health system,” explains Todd Sagin, MD, JD, president and medical director of Sagin Healthcare Consulting, “but these staffs create some common committees to achieve some of the benefits of complete unification.”

Through partial unification, medical staffs are able to maintain their own bylaws, policies, and procedures, but may choose to share certain responsibilities and/or carry out specified duties together. This option allows medical staffs in a system to reap some of the benefits of a unified medical staff without compromising the identities of their individual medical staffs.

Additionally, partial unification can also be a stepping stone for some hospitals within a system interested in unifying.

“Partial unification can be part of a journey toward full unification by allowing multiple medical staffs to develop comfort working collaboratively and moving toward more standardized approaches across the health system,” Sagin says. “It can also be an endpoint itself.”

Source: News & Analysis