Preparing for negotiations requires an appreciation of the other side’s needs, wants, values and constraints.  Anesthesiologists who have contracts with their hospitals or surgery centers are in a continuous cycle of negotiations—as soon as one contract is signed, it is time to start working toward the next agreement.  One good place to start in understanding the facility’s position is to look at the advice hospitals are receiving from their consultants.  Below is an article recently written for that audience by ABC Vice President for Regulatory Affairs & Research Joette Derricks, CPC, CHC, CMPE, CSSGB.  This article addresses hospital employment of physicians who bill using RBRVS Relative Value Units, and of course anesthesiologists use the Relative Value Guide’s Base and Time Unit methodology and typically have group exclusive contracts to provide services to the hospital’s patients, but the discussion below can be read with the differences in mind. It is important to...