MemorialCare Health System's Physician Organizations Achieve Top Honors from Integrated Healthcare Association and Other Statewide Groups

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Dec 11, 2013, 03:00 ET

MemorialCare Medical Group & Greater Newport Physicians Named Among State's Best

ORANGE and LOS ANGELES COUNTIES, Calif., Dec. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MemorialCare Health System's two physician organizations that are part of its MemorialCare Medical Foundation—MemorialCare Medical Group and Greater Newport Physicians—have been named among the state's best medical groups by Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA), a statewide not-for-profit leadership organization that promotes quality improvement, accountability and affordability of health care for all California consumers. IHA, which surveys and gathers information to ensure quality and recognize medical groups that excel in patient care, includes nearly 200 physician organizations representing approximately 35,000 physicians providing care for about 9 million members as well as eight health plans.

In the Top Performer Award bestowed by IHA, out of those nearly 200 physician organizations, MemorialCare Medical Group achieved the highest benchmarks for overall quality based on several measurements—one of only a handful of physician organizations in the state to receive this top honor for eight consecutive years.

Benchmarks utilized to identify top performing organizations are patient experience, clinical measures that include priority conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal, respiratory and prevention as well as achievements in meaningful use of health information technology.

In another announcement from IHA, Greater Newport Physicians was honored with a perfect five-star performance from the Medicare Stars Physician Group Care Ratings that assigns ratings from one to five stars for certain clinical care measures. MemorialCare Medical Group was honored with a near perfect four-and-a-half stars. A set of seven clinical measures were collected from participating health plans and physician groups. The measures were based on services provided to Medicare Advantage members who were patients of the physician groups in 2011. Clinical care measures studied include screenings for breast cancer and colorectal cancer and multiple screenings for diabetes care.

"We are proud to be continually recognized by Integrated Healthcare Association and other prestigious organizations," says Mark Schafer, MD, MemorialCare Medical Foundation Chief Medical Officer who assumes the CEO position of the medical foundation in January. "Delivering patient centered coordinated care is at the heart of our mission. We've been able to optimize care and improve patient safety by continuing to focus on the nation's Triple Aim in achieving health care excellence─ improving the experience of care, improving quality, and reducing per capita cost at our many physician offices, urgent care centers, retail clinics, imaging centers and ambulatory surgery sites throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. This recognition affirms we are consistently providing the highest quality care for our patients. It is a wonderful tribute to our physicians and entire health care team."

Earlier this year, MemorialCare Medical Group and Greater Newport Physicians were both honored by the California Association of Physician Groups with the Elite Status of four stars, the highest rating possible for medical groups in California. The Standards of Excellence program for the association's 150 medical group members that partner with 60,000 doctors providing care to 18 million Californians measures how physician organizations improve patient quality, safety, affordability, access, communications, care continuity, health information technology, public accountability, cultural sensitivities and responsiveness.

Additionally, Greater Newport Physicians was honored recently by the California Department of Managed Health Care with the Right Care Initiative Award for its Outstanding Performance in Blood Sugar Control for Patients with Diabetes and Leadership of Best Practices. Greater Newport Physicians' affiliate Edinger Medical Group received the Platinum Award for Outstanding Performance in Prevention of Heart Attack, Stroke and Diabetic Complications.

These are among the latest honors received by MemorialCare Medical Foundation. The nonprofit physician organization partners with physician groups in Orange and Los Angeles counties to offer comprehensive medical care to patients and promote physicians and hospitals working together toward an integrated approach to health care delivery. The MemorialCare Medical Foundation physician network, representing more than 350 primary care and 3,000 affiliated specialists, has 1,500 employees and more than 800,000 patient visits annually.

MemorialCare Health System is a not-for-profit integrated delivery system that includes more than 200 care sites; 16,000 employees and affiliated physicians; six top hospitals – Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach, Community Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills and San Clemente; medical groups – MemorialCare Medical Group and Greater Newport Physicians; a health plan – Seaside Health Plan; and numerous outpatient health centers throughout the Southland, including retail clinics, urgent care centers, imaging facilities and ambulatory surgery centers.

SOURCE MemorialCare Health System