title: Physician equity alliances: attractive alternatives to PHOs.
abstract: Physician equity alliances are becoming attractive alternatives to PHOs as integrative models for partnering with physicians, securing managed care contracts and increasing revenue. Unlike many PHOs, these alliances provide mechanisms for asset integration and long-term relationships along with utilization management, sophisticated information systems, access to capital and opportunities for physicians to integrate clinically. There are six major types of physician equity alliances: majority physician-owned, clinic without walls, health system joint venture, publicly held physician practice management company, specialty network, and venture capital. The type of alliance that a physician group practice ultimately develops depends on vision, values, method of capitalization, initial organizer of the alliance, level of involvement of physicians in business issues, corporate structure desired, and characteristics of the managed care market in which the alliance will operate.
authors.affiliation: Medical Alliances, Inc., Alexandria, VA, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D002202:Capital Financing; D019058:Community Networks / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000639:trends; D006123:Group Practice / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D006759:Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures; D006801:Humans; D007193:Independent Practice Associations / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010067:Ownership; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States