Part 1 – Medical Practice Consolidation and Physician Practice Viability of our series Should I Stay or Should I Let It Go? Accelerating Partnerships in a Pandemic details how significant Covid-19’s impact has been on the healthcare system in our country and especially on physicians in practice. To date, in the US there are 28 million Covid-19 cases reported with more than half a million deaths.

In Part 2, Partnering with Others, we outline traditional and novel options for physicians to consider when partnering with others. Historically, physicians increasingly moved from practicing independently to becoming employed by other organizations such as hospitals, health systems and even insurance companies.

In Part 3 Physician Partnerships with Health Systems, we discuss the history of physician partnerships with health systems and the pre-Covid dynamics of these ventures. With the arrival and persistent reality of Covid-19, and from a health system’s viewpoint, we highlight the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for medical practice partnerships with a health system today during a pandemic.

In Part 4 Accountable Care and Physician-Health System Partnerships, we describe the impact of accountable care and value-based reimbursement on physician-health system relationships.

In Part 5, Decision Making and Next Steps: The Multi-Dimensional Due Diligence (MD-DD™) Method we conclude our series with a practical decision-making framework for physicians contemplating their next steps in a potential partnership.