"We had spent a whole year talking about how to accommodate the emerging primary care physician groups, but we were stuck. The Tompkins Group, with The Pace Group, helped us to develop -- and get agreement on -- a realistic, implementable product. Without them, we would still be talking, not doing."

Arthur Fitzgerald
Executive Director
Hartford Physician Hospital Organization
Hartford, Connecticut

The Hartford (Connecticut) Physician Hospital Organization had been very successful in developing managed care business. But the local environment was changing rapidly: price pressure was becoming intense and physicians were forming group practices. Primary care physicians were demanding better risk sharing arrangements with specialists and the hospital and HPHO needed to re-organize to meet their needs. After almost a year of discussion and planning, it was clear that the organization was "stuck" and that outside help was needed.

To bring to HPHO unique and complementary expertise, The Tompkins Group teamed with The Pace Group of Dallas, Texas, and developed a solution responsive to HPHO’s immediate issues, with the flexibility to meet future market requirements. The firms enhanced HPHO’s organizational concept of primary care based panels, developed a risk sharing methodology that supported the new organization, and facilitated negotiations with the HMOs.

The firms are now helping HPHO to develop the management structure and skills necessary to handle the growing volume of capitated contracts.