The regulations now referred to as “Stark III” have added to the complexities of Stark compliance, but do not require major reorganization of business or delivery relationships. There are many opportunities for hospitals to help physicians with their business case, including paying for quality performance, which is particularly intriguing in light of the widespread emphasis on measured hospital quality improvement. In her two part article “Stark III: Refinement Not Revolution”, Alice first identifies issues associated with
Stark as applied within physician groups and in the second part identifies
opportunities and pitfalls that the new regulations raise, with regard to hospital-physician interactions.