What kinds of healthcare disputes are commonly resolved through mediation or arbitration?

Healthcare generates a wide range of disputes well suited to alternative dispute resolution, including medical malpractice and facility-liability claims, contract disputes between payers and providers, disagreements involving pharmacy benefit managers, billing and reimbursement disputes, health technology and software (health IT/SaaS) conflicts, and disputes touching on compliance and privacy. Many of these are highly technical and involve ongoing business relationships — between insurers and providers, or health systems and vendors — that the parties want to preserve. Medical malpractice claims are more likely to be mediated than arbitrated, absent a pre-dispute arbitration clause. Other healthcare disputes may be appropriate for either mediation or arbitration depending on the parties’ agreements and circumstances. Alternative dispute resolution can allow these matters to be handled privately by a neutral who understands both the clinical and commercial realities, which is often more efficient than litigation before a court unfamiliar with the healthcare context.