Health care alliances and alternative dispute resolution: managing trust and conflict

The U.S. health care industry has entered an unprecedented era of alliance activity. These alliances involve medical groups and hospitals, as well as many of the newer health care entities such as managed care organizations and integrated delivery systems. The increase in organizational collaboration has resulted in an increase in organizational conflict. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques can serve as a valuable tool for mitigating this type of conflict. The role of ADR is to refocus partners' attentions away from an adversarial posture and toward a complementary existence. This will permit the partners to realize the intended outcomes of the collaboration.