Heritage Medical Systems And Signature Medical Group Announce Joint Venture To Advance Population Healthcare Management In Missouri

The partnership brings together two highly respected, experienced organizations committed to the Triple Aim of providing better care, better health and lower costs while adding a fourth element of improved care giver engagement. This will be achieved by combining Heritage's long standing track record of physician led managed care and Signature's quality and reputation in Missouri and beyond.

For too many doctors, patients, and families, improving the quality, cost and service in healthcare all at the same time is frustratingly difficult. The new Missouri Collaborative Healthcare will change that dynamic by providing higher quality, more affordable coverage with an improved user friendly system.  

The key is enabling physicians and their collaborating healthcare partners to have a current and more complete informational view of all their patients, all the time.  Combining this information with accelerated payments from insurers and government that reward quality and effectiveness empowers Missouri Collaborative Healthcare to accelerate these changes.  Physicians can then coordinate needs and care across the entire system and tailor needed healthcare services proactively.  In addition, it will enable physicians to help patients and families understand the stronger role they can play in improving their own health and care.

For the first time, the joint venture will support physicians in the Midwest to expand the latest Heritage successful, proven clinical model and tailor it to each patient proactively. This venture will leverage Signature's primary and specialist physician network as well as recruit many more Missouri physicians to create a robust care network.

"We are proud to be broadening the population served by Heritage, supporting physicians in yet another local market, along with Signature Medical Group, as Heritage delivers better healthcare and wellness to more people across the country," said Dr. Richard Merkin, CEO of Heritage Medical Systems. "Our proprietary technology, and a body of knowledge developed over 37-years allows physicians to take full complete clinical responsibility in the changing healthcare environment, enabling us to improve outcomes and provide the best care to families and communities in Missouri," he continued.

"SMG's position as a leader in the movement toward value-based care is a perfect platform for the development of a population health initiative across Missouri," noted Jan Vest, CEO Signature Medical Group. "Our experience developing a successful maternity home-care model in Missouri and leading the nation's largest physician-led orthopedic bundled payment program are examples of our preparedness for this joint venture with Heritage. We're pleased and excited to be working with another national leader to be at the forefront of transforming the healthcare delivery system throughout Missouri."

Missouri Collaborative Healthcare will have local physician support and management and be driven primarily by quality, clinical outcome and patient experience metrics. The collaborative offers both better comprehensive care support for primary care physicians (PCP's) to help patients, and better financial support that recognizes their key role and work effort in managing patients 

"Missouri Collaborative Healthcare will enable me to deliver best in class managed care benefits to my patients. I will be able to help my healthy patients remain healthy through preventive care and provide comprehensive and coordinated care to my patients needing a higher level of service," said Dr. Dana Granberg, of Barry Pointe Family Care in Kansas City, Mo. "Access to high risk case managers, diabetes and other clinics, hospitalists and post transitional care, pharmacist and social services support enable me to provide care to the whole patient," concluded Dr. Granberg.

ABOUT HMS:
Heritage Medical Systems (HMS) is on the cutting edge of the accountable care model of healthcare delivery: coordinated, patient-doctor centric, integrated health care systems that represent the future of health care in the United States. HMS and its affiliates operate in California, Arizona and New York bringing 37 years of successful coordinated, managed care with over 4000 primary care physicians and 30,000 specialists. HMS provides high quality, cost effective healthcare to over one million individuals and are dedicated to quality, affordable health care, and putting patients' wellness first.

ABOUT SIGNATURE MEDICAL GROUP:
Signature Medical Group is comprised of more than 150 private-practice physicians, providing orthopedic, OB/GYN, gastrointestinal, allergy, pediatrics, neurosurgery, colon and rectal surgery, podiatry, primary care, surgical services, internal medicine, endocrinology, rheumatology, chiropractic and behavioral psychology services. Physicians at SMG's 31 medical practices see patients at 46+ locations in the St. Louis area, Kansas City area and Bolivar, MO. SMG physicians perform more than 575,000 patient visits and deliver more than 3,000 babies annually. Findings from studies indicate that SMG physicians outperform other physicians by providing care at 20-30 percent less cost with excellent quality outcomes. (www.signaturemedicalgroup.com)

For additional information regarding Missouri Collaborative Healthcare please go to: www.mocollabhealth.com and [email protected]

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SOURCE Heritage Medical Systems