I’ve been keeping my eye on group physician practice profiles and the relationship hierarchy.  Various federal and state-level regulations and statutes permeate the industry.  Stark laws prevent certain types of ownership relationships. Private businesses with multiple ownership makes this knotty like franchise marketing relationship hierarchies, but it's legal.  It's another view on  the U.S. healthcare industry.

Why does knowing the "parent/child" relationships and ownership hierarchy of group practices matter?  For big pharma and medical device firms and others who target physicians, it is mandatory to know one's audience(s) in order to develop sales strategies and pricing, compensation, territory assignments and training.  For example - if a seemingly small three person physician group is actually part of a much larger multi-site, multi-state practice, it makes a whole world of difference in terms of sales and marketing strategies.  If your competitor knows it and you don't, it may be a weakness for your business.  

Granted, a group practice is relatively benign on one level; it’s a group of physicians who provide specialized coordinated care to patients.   Group practice ownership and relationships may be partially or wholly owned by another medical group practice, medical center, hospital, foundation, community health center, clinic or other organized system of care.  There are partial-owners and joint ventures too which further complicate matters.  As private entities the relationships and ownerships is less visible than public firms.  

Recent acquisitions of two large database providers that cater to this industry – IMS Health and SK&A, is likely to make the situation even more challenging. Cegedim Dendrite, a Paris, France-based firm focused on life sciences announce on Jan, 11, 2010 that it would acquire SK&A Information Services, Inc. due to its up to date and rich database/directory - including telephone-verified email addresses of prescribers and associate professionals in the healthcare businesses.  (http://www.cegedimdendrite.com)

IMS Health, a $2.3 billion firm, is being merged with Healthcare Technology Holdings, Inc., an entity created by certain affiliates of TPG Capital, LP, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.  .(http://www.imshealth.com).  IMS supplies the US Government, CDC and others with information and sells to publishers, CME providers, payers and others.  IMS Health offers databases organized by classes in trade (COT) that depict the purchasing and contractual relationships . Over 85,000 group practice locations and 55 types of medical groups are included in one of their databases.