Providence Health Care and Group Health Cooperative have signed an agreement to form a new jointly owned company that will create a physician organization.
According to a release, this is not a merger or an acquisition. The two entities will form a new limited liability corporation.
'First and foremost, this comprehensive physician organization allows us to better care for our patients,' said Mike Wilson, chief executive of Providence Health Care in Eastern Washington. 'By improving coordination and communication among care givers who utilize the best evidence-based medicine, we will be able to improve quality. At the same time, we will help patients access the right kind of care at the most appropriate time and in the most appropriate setting. The result will be better health outcomes for patients, less duplication, and an overall reduction in cost.'
The new organization will be made up of health care providers from Group Health Physicians, Providence Medical Group and Columbia Medical Associates.
At the center of the integrated physician group are 132 primary care physicians who will serve as the medical home for patients throughout the region.
These physicians will coordinate patient care with care centers and hospitals, including Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital and Holy Family Hospital.
The provider organization will initially serve Providence employees and Group Health patients who seek care from providers working at Providence Medical Group, Group Health or Columbia Medical Associates clinics beginning in January 2013.
'Group Health and Providence are equally committed to finding local solutions to fix our broken health system by creating a patient-centered, clinically integrated delivery organization to care more effectively for residents of our community and the surrounding region,' said Kelly Stanford, vice president of market development for Group Health Cooperative. 'By drawing on the strengths and capabilities of both organizations and through new models of payment to providers, our integrated physician organization will achieve three goals enhance patient health, improve the patient care experience, and decrease the overall cost of care,' continues Stanford.
Providence Health Care is a member of Providence Health and Services, a Catholic health care ministry.
The health system is affiliated with Swedish Health Services.
Group Health provides health coverage.
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