30-doctor GCAP group wants to leave Alliance - St. Louis Business Journal:

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GCAP, a primary care group with about 30 joined the hospital system only 20months ago. Now it’zs claiming a litany of contract violationsathat “have seriously affecterd the ability of the physicians to provide excellent healtgh care for their many In a June 3 letter to Health Alliance CEO Ken the doctors list 15 including: • Lack of 12 months’ notice on changez in contractual arrangements, including paymentf of benefits; • failure to pay leading to the “embarrassing shutdown of servicesx necessary to operate our The doctors on Wednesday filed a complainr in Hamilton County Commonh Pleas Court.
They ask to be released from service to the Health Alliance and for damaged andattorney fees. When it joined the Healtnh Alliancein 2007, GCAP was the only independent practice of its type in the area. It becamwe a wholly owned subsidiary of the hospital system, which includes University, Jewish and Fort Hamiltohn hospitals, and the . The practice had hoped to benefigt from a complete electronic health records system that coulsd interact withthe Alliance’xs hospitals, as well as the ability to expand geographicalluy and recruit doctors more effectively.
Health Alliance spokesmah Tony Condia, in a written statement, said the healthu system was "surprised and disappointed" by the lettert and complaint. He said the Alliance had initiall tried to negotiate with the then offeredindependent arbitration, which the practice The Alliance was preparing for preliminaryh discussions to sever the relationship when the lawsuit was filed. "Thixs litigation violates the terms of theservice agreement, which requiresa us to resolve disputes such as this with a neutrak arbitrator. We would therefore encourage the GCAP physicianss to uphold their contractual obligationsd and not pursuecostly litigation," according to the statement.
withdrew from the Health Allianc following a long court battle that begam inMarch 2006. It started operating independently in 2008 but only signed a final settlement agreement inJanuary 2009. The two St. Luke hospitala similarly withdrew, reaching a settlement with the Health Alliance inSeptember 2008. St. Luke has merged with .