#Boston globe steward health care system pro

“Patients who had been historically sent from physician groups to specialists at Brigham were redirected to Faulkner’s community setting, so costs and efficiencies were better managed,” Maher says. After the merger, he saw that the resulting partnership was producing some unexpected benefits. This created the current incarnation of Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital.

#Boston globe steward health care system pro

However, those same academic activities frequently clashed with the productivity and effectiveness of ongoing clinical services.ĭuring this period, Maher also had the opportunity to negotiate, pro bono, the merger of Faulkner Hospital and the Brigham and Women’s system. He recognized that academic medical centers have more salaried physicians and that those physicians’ research, writing, and teaching responsibilities were effective at convincing insurers that reimbursement for services should be more than what is paid to community-based providers. The dual perspectives that came from working within the two different environments provided Maher with a number of key insights. Joseph Maher, Jr., General Counsel at Steward Health Care System In fact, at one point in the mid-1990s, he served simultaneously as vice chairman on the boards of both Faulkner Hospital, a community-based provider, and University Hospital, an academic teaching facility associated with Boston University. He began to get involved in the business activities of numerous Boston-area healthcare facilities. Maher developed this perspective while he still had his private legal practice.

“By continuing to expand our networks along with evolving accountable care models, we can make community hospitals extraordinarily relevant in the larger healthcare discussion.” Evolving with the Industry

“Our successes have shown the public that community-based care is far more valuable than it has been given credit for,” he says. He says it will go on to play a significant role in shaping healthcare in the near future. Joseph Maher, Steward’s general counsel, firmly believes the health system’s approach is making a difference in how people view community care. It also helps eliminate care fragmentation and reduces duplication of services. The growth and success of Steward Health Care System is a shining example of how this model can control costs while dramatically improving quality. As complex as US healthcare has become, it may have come full-circle-returning to community-based care.