timated two percent.Columbia encouraged physician ownership in the organization, which of course, raised some legal and ethical questions from consumers and advocates. Potential conflicts of interest created by physician-ownership of medical facilities such as testing labs, operating facilities, and home health care companies created widely divergent viewpoints regarding the medical field. Columbia argued that such ownership provided incentives for physicians to practice economical medicine.Following the resignation of Richard Scott, Thomas Frist became chairman and chief executive officer of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation on July 25, 1997. At that time Frist was Columbias largest individual stockholder, with 14.6 million shares, or about 2.2 percent of Columbia stock. However, Frist faces a plethora of challenges that must be overcome if Columbia/HCA is to remain a viable concern within the health care industry. Internal management issues are the new CEOs able to take advantage of further merger & acquisitions?Opportunities:Columbia/HCA should look more into the home health care industry. This is one of the fastest growing segments of the healthcare industry, because it provides services to patients and their families in their homes. The demand for home health care services is also increasing due to the rising health care costs, because home health care provides a less expensive alternative to hospital stays. Columbia/HCA should also consider expanding into assisted living health care, which is also amongst the fastest growing segments in healthcare. This arrangement is provided to residents of a facility, and it enables them to maintain independent while they carry out their daily activities. For example, some services provided may be light housekeeping, meal preparation and medication reminders.Threats:As of September 1997, it remained too early to tell what fines Columbia might face in resolving the federal investiga...
