News and briefs: Healthcare organizations identify challenges to expanding existing service lines

Seventy-five percent of health systems and hospitals plan to expand existing service lines, while 50% say they will create new ones, according to the organizations’ leaders who were surveyed by HealthLeaders Media. Respondents say this expansion will happen over the next two years, but they are already assessing the challenges to implementation, especially regarding physician alignment and compensation.

According to an article in HealthLeaders Media, more than half of those surveyed cited difficulty in aligning physicians with the organization’s goals. Another 40% say it is difficult to develop physician compensation plans, and about the same number or respondents say acquiring strategic physician organizations is a challenge.

One answer is to give physicians more leadership opportunities, including seats on the governing board according to Barry Arbuckle, PhD, president and CEO of MemorialCare Health System, based in Fountain Valley, CA. To read about Arbuckle’s idea and other tips for aligning physicians, click here.