Brock T H
Healthc Financ Manage. 1999 Sep;53(9):38-44.
As an alternative to complete mergers or joint ventures, hospitals recently have begun to explore virtual mergers, in which the parties are able to retain some managerial and financial independence while coordinating their mutual operations to financial advantage. Because virtual mergers are a recent phenomenon and can be structured in various ways, the antitrust risks associated with such transactions are unclear. A state antitrust challenge brought against an East Coast virtual merger and informal guidance by Federal antitrust attorneys suggest that the antitrust agencies will be inclined to challenge a virtual merger if the parties to the transaction retain too much independent decision-making authority. Hospitals that are considering a virtual merger therefore would do well to structure the transaction to combine governance and administration, financial assets, operations, and medical staffs as much as possible, while still allowing each party to the transaction to retain the independent decision-making authority each feels is necessary.
作为完全合并或合资企业的替代方案，医院最近开始探索虚拟合并，即各方在协调共同运营以实现财务优势的同时，能够保持一定的管理和财务独立性。由于虚拟合并是一种新现象，且可以有多种结构形式，与此类交易相关的反垄断风险尚不明朗。针对东海岸一起虚拟合并案的州反垄断质疑以及联邦反垄断律师的非正式指导表明，如果交易各方保留过多独立决策权，反垄断机构将倾向于对虚拟合并提出质疑。因此，考虑进行虚拟合并的医院最好在构建交易时尽可能地整合治理与行政、金融资产、运营及医务人员，同时仍允许交易各方保留各自认为必要的独立决策权。
