Alexander J. Hatala, president and CEO of Lourdes Health System, was the keynote speaker at MedAxiom's annual Spring Conference in Washington, D.C. on April 20.

MedAxiom is a national cardiology-specific community of practice executives, administrative leaders, physicians and business office teams that collectively make up a network of over 300 practices representing 5,400 physicians across the U.S. Each year, the conference aims to keep members informed of changing trends, technologies, strategies and best practices in cardiology-practice administration and service delivery.

As this year's keynote speaker, Mr. Hatala spoke on "The Importance of Hospital and Physician Partnerships in Today's Environment," sharing Lourdes' processes and successes in acquiring two large New Jersey cardiology practices and establishing a clinical co-management system with its cardiologists.



"Physician integration is a key component of our strategy as an organization," said Mr. Hatala.



Mr. Hatala outlined how the co-management alignment, with physician leadership in committees and clinical programs (such as heart failure and PVD management), supports the coming pay-for-performance landscape and top decile clinical and financial performance. Physicians are incentivized based on quality and safety, operations (reduced length of stay), readmissions and patient satisfaction.



Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center is the largest cardiovascular service provider in South Jersey, and is ranked by HealthGrades as the best in overall cardiac services in the state and among the 100 best nationwide. In an effort to eliminate the financial and regulatory barriers that have separated hospitals and physicians and create a true continuum of care, in 2011 Lourdes acquired two large cardiology practices with a total of 48 doctors and 12 office locations.