Physicians' role is key, Exchange delegates agree - 1995 Healthcare Financial Management Association USA/UK Exchange and Seminar

Healthcare Financial Management, Oct, 1995

Physician payment and incentives for effective healthcare utilization were the key topics discussed at the 1995 HFMA USA/UK Exchange and Seminar, held in Plymouth, England, July 26 through 28. Twenty-five HFMA delegates from the United States traveled to join colleagues from the Healthcare Financial Management Association of the United Kingdom for the 15th annual event.

Richard L. Clarke, FHFMA, HFMA's president and chief executive officer, told delegates that although the United States's market-driven approach to healthcare delivery is very different from the government-managed system found in the United Kingdom, healthcare financial managers on both sides of the Atlantic face many of the same challenges.

"Government leaders in both countries are seeking to control the total cost of health services," Clarke said. "Regardless of whether healthcare policy is government imposed or market driven, financial managers in both countries are evaluating ways to change physician payment incentives and to better align all the economic incentives. By doing this, they are looking to maximize the benefit to stakeholders and patients.

"Managers from both the United States and the United Kingdom agree that getting physicians more involved in economic decision-making will be the key," Clarke said.

First conducted in London, England, in 1981, the Exchange has provided healthcare financial managers with educational and networking opportunities in the inter national health services arena. In addition to attending program presentations and forums, participants received an on-site look at health service delivery and financial management systems in the United Kingdom.

The next USA/UK Exchange will be held July 24 through 26,1996, in Charlotte, North Carolina.