Cleveland's MetroHealth has hired more than 40 HealthSpan primary-care physicians who will join its system after the HealthSpan Physicians medical group dissolves on March 31.
“Patients can stay with the same doctor in the same location,” said Dr. Akram Boutros, MetroHealth's president and CEO.
MetroHealth plans to provide care at several of HealthSpan's existing facilities, including Cleveland Heights, Parma, Bedford and Rocky River starting April 1.
Boutros said 40 providers have already signed contracts, but they're working to bring in another 25 specialty providers. He believes the system will add 65 of the 67 providers approached to join MetroHealth. Patients will also have access to the rest of the MetroHealth provider network.
MetroHealth also announced Friday, Jan. 15, it would join Advanced Health Select, the clinically integrated network created at the end of last year by Cincinnati-based Mercy Health and Summa Health of Akron. The network aims to improve chronic care management, improve access and lower the cost of care.
“Health care has been a fairly competitive biz where each health system and hospital are working on improving their own area of care provision,” Boutros said. “That does not permits for coordination or sharing of best practices.”
Advanced Health Select allows for the geographically dispersed organizations in the network to share best practices and knowledge, which wasn't easy or natural before, Boutros said. Through this collaboration, MetroHealth will be a preferred provider for HealthSpan's Northeast Ohio members. In dissolving its medical group, HealthSpan said patients carrying its insurance will continue to be served.
“Advanced Health Select puts Mercy Health, Summa Health and now MetroHealth at the forefront of health care transformation,” Dr. Brent Asplin, chief clinical officer at Mercy Health and AHS president, said in a statement. “We are pleased that MetroHealth will join us to extend the continuity of care in Northeast Ohio.”
The addition of the HealthSpan Physicians providers to MetroHealth will minimize disruption to patients and help with a smooth transition.
“They are closely aligned with our mission of building a healthier community,” Boutros said in a statement. “Their experience in population health and commitment to their patients will be enormously beneficial to increase access, improve quality and transform care.”
