For more than 40 years, Tom Dutton has helped hospitals, health systems, insurance companies, and large physician groups design and successfully implement cutting-edge integration and delivery strategies. He has led deal teams in innovative service line revenue mergers; dozens of hospital, HMO (health maintenance organization), insurance company, and clinical laboratory mergers, acquisitions, and joint operating agreements; hospital closures; statewide/multistate health system collaboratives; and distressed company transactions. Tom has handled dozens of specialty/primary care physician practice acquisitions, including physician private equity transactions, and developed regulatory-compliant physician employment compensation models, created dozens of provider-based clinics and co-management arrangements, developed/advised ACOs (accountable care organizations) regarding the use of ACO waivers, and implemented every type of physician-hospital joint venture.
Representative matters include: advising Ascension Health with respect to Labcorp's acquisition of Ascension's outreach laboratories and ongoing management of Ascension's hospital-based laboratories; representing Vanderbilt University Medical Center with respect to its acquisition of three hospitals from Community Health Systems (CHS) and partnership with CHS of another hospital; representing Atlantic Health System regarding its acquisition of a majority interest in CentraState Health; representing UPMC's cancer program regarding its employed physician relationships, provider-based clinics, and service line joint ventures with community hospitals; advising The Christ Hospital regarding its establishment of musculoskeletal gainsharing and co-management arrangements; developing numerous cardiovascular, orthopedic, oncology, and other service line co-management arrangements for UnityPoint Health; and representing McLaren Health Care in the closure and sale of St. Luke's Hospital in Maumee, Ohio.
Tom is a frequent lecturer at national conferences on the latest models for physician-hospital integration.
- Northwestern University (J.D. cum laude 1983); Washington and Lee University (B.A. in Politics magna cum laude 1980; Phi Beta Kappa)
- Ohio
First named to Best Lawyers in America — health care in 1995 at age 36 and named in every subsequent edition
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in the field of health care (2012-2024)
Named a Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer (2025)
BTI Client Service All-Star (2018)
Twice selected for Nightingale's Healthcare News List of Outstanding Healthcare Transaction Lawyers