Using comparative data to improve healthcare value.

Hospitals can use comparative data to achieve healthcare delivery reform by reducing waste and improving quality. Hospitals should share data with physicians to engage them in identifying areas for improvement. A hospital-physician alignment model is needed as a platform for creating common goals for both hospitals and physicians.

The return of gainsharing.

Hospitals may participate in gainsharing arrangements, but those arrangements should include safeguards that will minimize regulatory exposure. Gainsharing provides a powerful means by which hospitals and physicians can reconcile their conflicting economic interest while promoting quality of care. Hospitals are challenged to structure gainsharing arrangements so they maximize productive hospital-physician collaboration while minimizing the OIG's compliance concerns.