Integrated Healthcare Association’s 2016 Excellence in Healthcare Award Recognizes Physician Organizations for Achieving Top Marks Simultaneously on Quality, Patient Experience and Costs

/EIN News/ -- OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fewer than 1 in 5 participating California physician organizations scored the equivalent of a health care hat trick—top performance on clinical quality, patient experience and cost measures in 2015—to win the third annual Excellence in Healthcare Award presented today by the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA).

A key component of IHA’s statewide Value Based Pay for Performance (VBP4P) program, the Excellence in Healthcare Award recognizes physician organizations that perform in the top 50 percent in all three major VBP4P areas: clinical quality, patient experience and total cost of care. Value Based P4P participants include 200-plus physician organizations caring for about 9 million Californians enrolled in 10 health plans’ commercial HMO and point of service products.  

Only 34 physician organizations statewide attained Excellence in Healthcare Award performance standards for 2016, based on VBP4P results for measurement year 2015, up from 22 physician organizations the previous year.

“Achieving top marks simultaneously for quality, patient experience and costs is no small feat, and it’s important to recognize the growing number of California physician organizations working to provide high-value, integrated care that improves quality and helps keep care affordable,” said IHA Board Chair Barry Arbuckle, Ph.D., President and CEO of MemorialCare Health System.

IHA President and CEO Jeffrey Rideout, M.D., also commended the top performers, saying, “These physician organizations are making a real difference in their communities and in their patients’ lives every day through their commitment to high-quality, affordable, patient-centered care.”

For example, if all participating physician groups performed at the same level as the Excellence in Healthcare Award winners:

• More than 41,000 California patients with diabetes would have their blood sugar controlled, helping to lower their risk of adverse health outcomes.
• More than 290,000 California patients would rate their overall care quality a 9 or a 10, with 10 the highest score.
• Health care savings would be about $3.9 billion a year—or about $440 less spending on average per enrollee annually.

Similarly, IHA’s new online California Regional Health Care Cost & Quality Atlas illuminates how reducing the wide variation in health care performance across the state could improve quality and reduce costs. The Atlas data also point to the value of integrated care, finding that commercial HMOs frequently outperform commercial PPOs on both clinical quality and cost measures across the state. A leading explanation for the higher performance among HMO products is their reliance on integrated care delivery networks, which include physician organizations that typically have more sophisticated care management infrastructure, such as IT and data systems, and more established care coordination procedures.

“A defining characteristic of the Excellence in Healthcare Award winners is their commitment to integrated care delivery,” Rideout said.

2016 IHA Excellence in Healthcare Award

• Affinity Medical Group, Oakland
• Arch Health Partners, Poway*
• Verity Medical Foundation, San Jose
• Hill Physicians Medical Group - Sacramento Region
• Kaiser Permanente Northern California Permanente Medical Groups:
  • Diablo/Antioch Medical Centers, Walnut Creek; Fremont/San Leandro Medical Centers; Fresno Medical Center; Modesto/Manteca/Stockton Medical Centers; Oakland/Richmond Medical Centers; Redwood City Medical Center; Roseville/Sacramento Medical Centers; San Rafael Medical Center; Santa Rosa Medical Center; South Sacramento Medical Center; South San Francisco Medical Center; and Vallejo/Vacaville Medical Centers
• Kaiser Permanente Southern California Permanente Medical Groups:
  • Baldwin Park; Downey; Fontana/Ontario; Kern County; Los Angeles; Orange County; Panorama City; Riverside; San Diego; South Bay; West Los Angeles; and Woodland Hills
• Meritage Medical Network, Novato*
• Mission Heritage Medical Group, Mission Viejo
• PIH Health Physicians-Group Division, Whittier*
• Riverside Medical Clinic, Riverside
• Sharp Community Medical Group Independent Practice Association (IPA), San Diego
• St. Joseph Heritage Medical Group, Orange

* These physician organizations are three-time winners of the IHA Excellence in Healthcare Award.

While recognizing top performers is an important aspect of the IHA VBP4P program, recognizing physician groups that have made great strides in improving quality is also critical. To that end, IHA also recognized eight physician organizations—one from each VBP4P region—with the Ronald P. Bangasser, M.D., Memorial Award for Quality Improvement for demonstrating the greatest year-to-year quality improvement in their respective regions.

Ronald P. Bangasser, M.D., Memorial Award for Quality Improvement

• Bay Area Region: Santa Clara County IPA (SCCIPA), Foster City
• Central Coast Region: Seaview IPA, Oxnard
• Central Valley Region: All Care IPA, Modesto
• Inland Empire Region: Upland Medical Group, a Prospect Medical Company, Ontario
• Los Angeles Region: Prospect Health Source Medical Group, Los Angeles
• Orange County Region: AMVI Medical Group, proudly managed by Prospect Medical, Westminster
• Sacramento/Northern California Region: Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation’s Sutter Medical Group of the Redwoods, part of the Sutter Health Network, Santa Rosa
• San Diego Region:  Rady Children's Health Network, San Diego

Based in Oakland, Calif., the nonprofit Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA) convenes diverse stakeholders—including physicians, hospitals and health systems, purchasers, and health plans—committed to high-value, integrated care that improves quality and affordability for patients across California and the nation.

Contact:
Alwyn Cassil, (202) 271-9260 
acassil@policytranslation.com