There may be a management committee set up to run the affairs of the joint-venture and, through the joint venture agreement, the hospital could ensure that it had appropriate representation on that management committee or that certain decisions of the management committee could only be made with the consent of the hospital. Similarly, both a partnership and a limited partnership would be documented by a partnership agreement. The hospital may have representation on this decision-making body or may simply have the ability to consent to certain types of decisions that are made. Lastly, a shareholders' agreement is often entered into to govern the decision making of a subsidiary corporation. Once again the hospital may choose to have representation on the board of directors of the subsidiary corporation, thereby ensuring that it has a voice in all key decisions, or it may require that certain decisions can only be entered into with the consent of the shareholders or with a specified majority vote of the shareholders.
All hospitals are concerned about their reputations.
When a hospital proposes to get into a venture with a new partner it will wish to be assured that there will be no risk to the hospital's reputation. Hospitals usually engage in a review of both the validity of the business case for the new venture and the stability and reputation of the other parties to the venture in order to be assured that the venture will be a success. It is best to begin this investigation as early in the process as possible. The boards of directors of hospitals take a very keen interest in ensuring that they preserve the reputation and confidence of the hospital in the eyes of the community and should be very rigorous in the standards that they apply to their proposed new partners. Impact on Employees Hospitals are also very concerned to ensure that their staff are treated appropriately.