Denver MDs, hospitals partner on outpatient centers

Denver hospitals and doctors are starting to work closely together to provide outpatient services, putting aside traditional rivalries in the interest of reaping profits on higher-margin care and avoiding costly competition. True, hospitals are continuing to pursue their own outpatient projects--Denver health system HealthOne, for example, runs a total of its own 11 ambulatory surgery centers--but many of the region's recent or upcoming hospital outpatient building projects include at least some doctor ownership, according to the Denver Business Journal.

HealthOne, for example, runs an imaging joint venture with Diversified Radiology of Colorado, operating four centers. Denver's Lutheran Medical Center is building an outpatient surgery center as a joint venture with physicians, and is considering building a cancer center with another physician group. While it may be optional now, long-term, these moves are about survival: Competing physicians on an outpatient surgery center could cut hospital revenues 50 percent to 60 percent, according to Saint Joseph Hospital CEO Bob Minkin.

Get more details on Denver's hospital-outpatient relationships:
- read this article from the Denver Business Journal

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