The Tulane University Medical Center/Columbia partnership: opportunities and challenges for pathology

A joint venture between the largest health-care corporation in the country (Columbia/HCA) and Tulane University Hospital/Clinic was established about 1 year ago. Early indications are that the partnership is successful and mutually beneficial. For Tulane University Medical Center, the joint venture provides financial stability and support for academic centers of excellence. Tulane University Hospital/Clinic will become the referral center for complicated cases from the regional Columbia hospitals. The Tulane University Hospital laboratories are positioned to become the regional referral laboratory for esoteric testing. For the pathologists of the regional Columbia hospitals, the opportunity beckons to form a group of equal partners that will contract with Columbia to provide laboratory services at Columbia hospitals and to consolidate the laboratories in the New Orleans division. Columbia has brought corporate expertise, capital, and opportunities for cost-saving economies of scale to the partnership. Quality and cost-effectiveness of patients care will be emphasized as will research on clinical outcomes. This model of corporate/academic partnership represents a new option for academic medical centers around the country as they respond to the rapid changes in the health-care environment.