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Doctor Owned And Operated: 3 Reasons Physician-Owned Hospitals Benefit Patients

After the Affordable Care Act of 2010 placed several restrictions on physician-owned hospitals, including bans on expansion and new construction, some doctors worried about how their hospitals would fare. However, despite these stumbling blocks, physician-owned hospitals have thrived in the last few years. And that's good news for patients seeking personalized, high-quality care. Read on to learn more about three ways in which physician-owned hospitals directly benefit patients.

Flexibility

Physician-owned hospitals were born of necessity, when frustrated doctors realized the stranglehold that bureaucrats and administrators had on them and their ability to care for their patients. By putting decision-making power back into the hands of the doctors themselves, patients are able to work one-on-one with their doctor to explore all the available options, allowing them to enjoy health care that's truly tailored to them and their unique needs. 

And, in physician-owned hospitals, doctors are free to set their own schedules.  Besides offering patients more flexibility in setting appointments and surgery dates, it also ensures doctors know exactly how many staff members they need each day, ensuring that they are never understaffed.

Quality

Besides flexibility, patients also benefit from the high-quality cared offered by doctor-owned hospitals. For example, nurse-to-patient ratios are typically 4:1, compared to 8:1 or more in general hospitals. Appropriate nurse-to-patient ratios have a significant impact on quality of care and safe patient outcomes, including decreased medication errors, complications, and mortality.

In addition, patient polling conducted by Consumer Reports shows that physician-owned hospitals are consistently ranked as the best in the country; they rank as #1 in 19 of 30 states, and in 20 states, a doctor-owned hospital is in the top five.

Efficiency

So physician-owned hospitals can boast flexible, high-quality care, but what about value? Once again, doctor-owned hospitals shine, being some of the most efficient and cost-effective hospitals in the country. These hospitals are able to provide complex medical services at rates well below those charged by general hospitals. And, because the doctors who own the hospital are footing the bill for its operation, there is absolutely no room for wasteful spending and unnecessary testing that can jack up patients costs.

And not only do patients enjoy financial benefits, but the local communities do as well.  Because physician-owned hospitals do not receive tax money, and actually pay property, sales, and inventory taxes, that money goes back into the community and the economy.

Flexibility, quality, and efficiency; these are just three benefits patients can expect when doctors own their hospitals, like Nueterra, and are empowered with the ability to make patient-focused decisions.


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