Hospitals are increasingly seeking out business relationships (alliances, partnerships) as a means to gain competitive advantages in the marketplace. It’s a trend that’s been growing, in part, because the Federal Trade Commission is beginning to take a closer look at how mergers and acquisitions are affecting competition and patient access to care. However, there are a variety of variables involved, including goals such as expanding clinical expertise and increasing quality.

For example, Tenet has formed an alliance with Yale New Haven to develop clinical networks; Tenet gets access to Yale’s clinical expertise and Yale gets access to Tenet’s large cash reserves. Also, a new “quality alliance” was announced last week by Kaiser Permanente and Johns Hopkins; Kaiser gets access to Johns Hopkins’ research capabilities and Johns Hopkins can tap into Kaiser’s vast database of population health statistics.

Other activities include joint ventures such as the recent agreement between Tenet and Dignity Health to take over operations of southern Arizona’s largest hospital system, Carondelet Health Network.

To learn more, see the article: “Hospital Mergers Are Out. ‘Strategic Alliances’ Are In. Is Obamacare Responsible?” published by California Healthline at http://www.californiahealthline.org/road-to-reform/2014/hospital-mergers-are-out-strategic-alliances-are-in-is-obamacare-responsible