Cleveland Clinic, ProMedica developing clinical affiliation

Cleveland Clinic and ProMedica, a Toledo, Ohio-based eight-hospital system, have signed a letter of understanding to develop a health system affiliation aimed at creating a clinically aligned network to provide population-management services.

“In this transformational time in healthcare, a new level of collaboration is required and health systems are integrating in unique ways,” Dr. Toby Cosgrove, president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic, said in a news release.

Identified areas of collaboration include: information technology, supply chain efficiencies and operational standardization.

“What's being expected are new, sophisticated capabilities to deliver value-based care,” Stephen Staelin, ProMedica board chairman, said in the release. “We can build these capabilities together, along with economies of scale and skill.”

The two organizations formed an Innovation Alliance last year to commercialize and market medical innovations they developed. The first stage of the affiliation will include the creation of a steering committee co-chaired by representatives of both organizations.

Earlier this year, Cleveland Clinic entered into an agreement with Community Health Systems, a for-profit system based in Franklin, Tenn., to collaborate on improving cardiovascular services, advancing telemedicine and reducing supply costs.

In a video interview with Modern Healthcare, Wayne Smith, CHS chairman, president and CEO said the arrangement was more about getting “access to expertise” at the Cleveland Clinic than it was about linking to a particular brand. Cosgrove noted that both organizations were “metric driven” and both are very transparent about those metrics.

Cleveland Clinic signed a similar deal with MedStar Health, a nine-hospital, Columbia, Md.-based system, back in January. The arrangement with MedStar, which was already part of the Innovation Alliance, calls for sharing of heart-care best practices and speeding improvements in care and research.

Last month, the 11-hospital Cleveland Clinic health system announced several key management changes that take effect Sept. 1. These included moving Jan Murphy from her post as president of 364-bed Fairview Hospital in Cleveland into a new role as chief operating officer of the Cleveland Clinic-managed Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Follow Andis Robeznieks on Twitter: @MHARobeznieks