Mergers = Change LO7226

Arline Berman (102021.457@CompuServe.COM)
06 May 96 16:23:55 EDT

I've been enjoying the dialogue on this list for a good while and have
appreciated the knowledge I've gained. Two associates and myself need
your input.

We are seeking information on change management concepts applied to the
merger of physicians' practices.

The managed care environment is, to say the least, dynamic. Some
physicians would go so far as to say chaotic. One reaction to this chaos:
join practices together. "Together we stand, divided we fall."

Practice mergers usually involve attempted "marriages" of different
business attitudes, procedures, sizes, maturity, leadership personalities,
goals, etc. In short, the cultures of merging groups may have some
significant differences. These differences necessitate change. All people
in all levels of the merging groups will have at least SOME changing to
do.

As Quality consultants, we help organizations improve. A growing
necessity in our line of work is to be able to work with people help them
understand and accept, manage and eventually exploit, change.

We realize there are many many examples of mergers, some smooth and
some not so smooth. We also realize there are many examples of Quality
(CQI, TQM, etc.) applied to healthcare organizations -- we've worked our
share. A significant factor of either of these situations is change;
especially when occurring simultaneously.

To that end, we are searching for examples of your experiences related
to change management as applied to mergers of groups of physicians. What
concepts, models, theories worked? Or which can you suggest that you
haven't tried?

So,.. any other trailblazers out there? We'd strongly appreciate
any information any of you might have, either direct experience or a
name/number of a source. We'll gladly share any info, of course

-- 

Arline Berman <102021.457@CompuServe.COM>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>