Strategic planning and entrepreneurism in academic health centers

This article examines the academic medical center as a mature component of the industry, whose complex mission can be reconciled with the public's changing needs in an era of cost containment through the use of increasingly businesslike strategic planning. New dimensions in academic health center missions (as a result of changing public mandates) emphasize the need to identify the most appropriate settings for both the delivery of patient care and physician education. Strategies to meet these new demands, reflecting a market-oriented approach, such as diversification through corporate reorganization and joint ventures are delineated. Legal, tax, and regulatory problems that develop as a result of not-for-profit hospital engagement in unrelated business activity are also reviewed.