PACT-Hartford HealthCare was created based on the belief that a private practice setting can provide high-quality, low-cost medical care while allowing physicians to manage their practice the way they want it to be managed.
Practice Management Services for Private Practices
While we appreciate the intent behind hospital-acquired practices, we believe that there are numerous advantages—both to physicians and their patients—when physicians are partners rather than employees in a medical practice. For this reason, PACT-Hartford HealthCare supports New Haven area providers in maintaining their independence.
By joining PACT-Hartford HealthCare, individual practices retain their autonomy while becoming, for tax and billing purposes, divisions of our multi-specialty group under a single tax ID number. While each division remains its own profit/loss center, members are able to share in the benefits of a multi-specialty group.
Shared back-office services
While our members do turn over certain responsibilities to PACT-Hartford HealthCare, those responsibilities are generally the ones that are least related to why our members entered the medical field. And even in these non-core business areas, all PACT-Hartford HealthCare members have a say in guiding company policies. PACT-Hartford HealthCare is structured so that members can maintain their independence in certain key areas while benefiting from shared services such as a human resources department that works with all member divisions’ employees. This simplifies and maximizes benefits such as health insurance, disability and 401k plans. Likewise, all PACT-Hartford HealthCare members use the widely used and highly regarded Epic electronic health record system, with implementation, support and training from PACT MSO.
Structured to preserve independence
As can be expected from an organization that was created by physicians, the PACT-Hartford HealthCare operating agreement gives each division as much decision-making authority as allowed by law. There may be occasions when the PACT-Hartford HealthCare board of directors has to get involved, but in virtually all cases deference is given to member physicians. Our members have control over most aspects of their division, including:
- how your division is structured
- how patient care in your division will be organized
- how profits are disbursed among your partners
- how many employees you will have, what you will pay them, hiring and firing decisions, etc.
- the look and location of your office
- how your day-to-day activities are scheduled and structured
Participation in policy and direction
To maintain fair representation, the our board of directors is elected only by PACT-Hartford HealthCare members. The PACT-Hartford HealthCare board currently consists of five members with a mandate to expand to seven as additional divisions are added. In addition, PACT-Hartford HealthCare provides its members with financial transparency and accountability, so that member physicians can easily understand the company’s budgetary process.
Because government efforts and insurance policies have been structured around primary care physicians as the center of the patient universe, PACT-Hartford HealthCare has a similar structure: The board always has a majority of primary care physicians, while each other division or specialty is represented by a single board member. All divisions are represented on the board of directors.
Under our agreement with Hartford HealthCare, PACT-Hartford HealthCare is an independent medical practice operating under the Hartford HealthCare umbrella.
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