Organization and Governance
The South Shore Physician Hospital Organization (SSPHO) is a Chapter 180 non-profit, taxable corporation, incorporated on August 19, 1994. It has two corporate members, South Shore Hospital, Inc. (SSH) and the Physicians Organization of the South Shore, Inc. (POSS).
One terrific feature of the SSPHO is the Physicians Organization of the South Shore otherwise known as the (POSS). This is the physician arm of the SSPHO that governs the activities of the SSPHO from a physician’s perspective. This is an all-physician organization with a physician-only board that was created expressly to ensure that the needs of the physician and the care of their patients are carefully incorporated into all of the decisions of the SSPHO.
The SSPHO Board of Directors is comprised of 12 members, eight of whom are physicians and four of whom are Hospital representatives. Half of the physician representatives are in primary care specialties of pediatrics, family practice, obstetrics (when allowed by the health plans) and general internal medicine. The other four represent specialties including radiology, surgery, and oncology.
All decisions regarding annual operating and capital budgets, data and medical management systems, approval of payor contracts and changes in business purpose or bylaws require the majority vote of both hospital and physician representatives.
The SSPHO is governed by its Board of Directors. The departments of Business Development, Contract Analysis, Finance & Business Analysis, Information Systems, and Medical Management are overseen by the Vice President.
The SSPHO is backed both philosophically and financially by the South Shore Health & Educational Corporation, the parent company of South Shore Hospital. In addition it is funded by the members of the corporation via a small per member per month management fee and through significant support payments from the individual managed care organizations and insurance companies.