Patent ID: 7437303

Claim:
A computer-based method for implementing and managing a cost-savings program for a hospital to assist the hospital to budget for compensating physicians for uncompensated or undercompensated services provided at the hospital, wherein the undercompensated services includes services such as emergency room services for which physicians may be compensated at rates substantially below fair market value, comprising: defining a group of the physicians; storing a list of the physicians in the group in memory of a computer system; defining a set of cost-savings measures for selective use in the hospital with input from the physicians on the list, each of the cost-savings measures comprising steps to be performed as part of providing care at the hospital; storing the cost-savings measures in the memory; providing an estimated cost saving value for each of the stored cost-savings measures; operating the computer system to calculate a prospective cost saving total for the hospital, wherein the prospective cost savings total is calculated for an upcoming time period based on a projected implementation of the cost-savings measures by physicians at the hospital and based on the estimated cost saving values associated with the cost-savings measures; and with the computer system, determining and reporting a source of funds for the stored list of the physicians available for the hospital to use in compensating the physicians on the stored list for performing the uncompensated or undercompensated services at the hospital, wherein the source of funds is determined for the upcoming time period based on the prospective cost saving total; and with the computer system determining compensation based on the source of funds for the physicians on the stored list for providing the uncompensated or undercompensated services at the hospital during the time period, wherein the compensation is higher than compensation provided by the hospital for physicians absent from the stored list, wherein the compensation is less than fair market value for corresponding services, and wherein the uncompensated or undercompensated services differ from the cost-savings measures.