Atrius Health

Atrius Health, formed in 2004, is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, and is the largest independent physician-led healthcare organization in the Northeast.[1] Atrius Health delivers a system of connected care for more than 740,000 adult and pediatric patients in eastern and central Massachusetts.[2] Atrius Health's 36 medical practices, with more than 50 specialties and 900 physicians, work together with the home health and hospice services of its VNA Care subsidiary and in close collaboration with hospital partners, community specialists and skilled nursing facilities.[3]

The Atrius Health groups have a long history of operating as a model for accountable care organizations (ACOs)[4], with full responsibility for the quality and cost of care for many of their patients since before the term was coined by Elliott S. Fisher, MD, MPH, in 2006.[5] In 2009, Atrius Health became one of the first organizations to sign on to the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Alternative Quality Contract (AQC), viewed by many as one of the first models of an accountable care organization.[6]

Atrius Health is also a participant in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Pioneer ACO program. In 2015, Atrius Health's Pioneer ACO's quality scores were the highest among Pioneer ACO's in Massachusetts and the third highest among Pioneer ACOs nationally.[7] The ACO model enables Atrius Health to employ effective population health management to pro-actively care for groups of patients with similar conditions over the long term and across the continuum of care.[8]

Almost all of the Atrius Health primary care practices have received the highest possible national accreditation as Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Homes from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).[9]

Atrius Health has also earned Stage 7 recognition from HIMSS Analytics, the highest level possible nationally for the use of health information technology.[10] This sophistication of technology includes a web portal that allows clinicians within Atrius Health and partnering organizations to have easy one-click, read-only access to a patient's electronic medical record at many hospitals in the area. Patients of Atrius Health can access a secure patient portal to allow access to medical records and communicate securely with doctors online.[11]

Leadership
Steven Strongwater, MD President and CEO, Atrius Health

Steven Strongwater, MD, president and CEO

Steven Strongwater, MD became president and CEO of Atrius Health in August 2015.[12] He is responsible for all aspects of leading this non-profit accountable care organization of 6,800 employees serving 740,000 patients across eastern Massachusetts with coordinated medical care, home health and hospice. From September 2012 to July 2015, Strongwater served as Geisinger Health System's chief transformation officer.[13] Prior to this, Strongwater served as CEO of Stony Brook University Medical Center where he built advanced clinical programs and implemented major capital and information technology operations.[13]

Strongwater recently completed a term as the chair of the American Hospital Association's Committee on Health Professions as well as an Advisor to the Association of American Medical Colleges for the CMS Bundling Project.[13]

Joe Kimura, MD, chief medical officer, Atrius Health

Joe Kimura, MD, chief medical officer

Joe Kimura, MD, MPH is chief medical officer of Atrius Health and an internist at Atrius Health. In 2012, Kimura was named by Modern Healthcare as one of the Top 25 Clinical Informaticists in the United States.[14] Since 2014, he has served as co-chair of the Office of National Coordinator HIT Policy Federal Workgroup on Advanced Health Models and Meaningful Use.[15]

Atrius Health medical practices

Founding medical groups Dedham Medical Associates and Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates formed Atrius Health as a loose affiliation in 2004, and were joined by Granite Medical Group in 2005. They entered a formal merger in 2015, and took on VNA Care Network & Hospice as a subsidiary providing integrated home health and hospice subsidiary in 2017.[16][17] PMG Physician Associates followed suit on June 1, 2017.[18]

Hospital affiliations

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Milton
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Needham
Beverly Hospital

Boston Children's Hospital
Emerson Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital/Faulkner Hospital
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
Lowell General Hospital

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Mount Auburn Hospital
New England Baptist Hospital
Newton-Wellesley Hospital
South Shore Hospital
Winchester Hospital

Timeline
  • 2004: Dedham Medical Associates, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Southboro Medical Group and South Shore Medical Center formed HealthOne Care System
  • 2005: Granite Medical Group joined HealthOne Care System
  • 2007: HealthOne Care System changed its name to Atrius Health
  • 2007: Hired Ed Noffsinger,[19] the "Father of Shared Medical Appointments" to launch a program of Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs[20]) as a way for patients to have better access to their physicians and other providers and to learn from other patients during a 90-minute group visit[21]
  • 2009: Began working with Simpler Consulting[22] to improve care deliveries through Lean transformation.[23]
  • 2009: Signed a five-year Alternative Quality Contract[24] (AQC) with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to improve the quality of care and cut medical costs[25]
  • 2009: Created the Atrius Health Foundation to support innovative solutions to improve healthcare and help in emergency situations like the 2010 earthquake near Port-au-Prince, Haiti
  • 2011: Reliant Medical Group (formerly Fallon Clinic) joined Atrius Health[26]
  • 2013: VNA Care Network & Hospice joined Atrius Health; VNA of Boston merged into VNA Care Network & Hospice[27]
  • 2015: Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Dedham Medical Associates, and Granite Medical Group merge into one corporation with VNA Care Network Foundation as an integrated subsidiary[28]
  • 2015: Atrius Health invests $10 million into an Innovation Center aimed at developing and improving patient-centered care delivery models to improve care quality and efficiency in interacting with patients[29]
  • 2015: Steven Strongwater joins Atrius Health as president & chief executive officer[30]

References
  1. "History". Atriushealth.org. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  2. "Atrius Health: Who We Are". Atriushealth.org.
  3. "Atrius Health - Our Care Network". Atriushealth.org.
  4. "ACO FAQs". Kaiserhealthnews.org.
  5. Aiello, Marianne (December 2, 2010). "Elliott Fisher: Data-Driven ACO Visionary". Health Leaders Media. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-02-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "How Atrius Health is Standing Tall Among Pioneer ACOs | Healthcare Informatics Magazine | Health IT | Information Technology". Healthcare-informatics.com. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  8. "Atrius Health - Accountable Care Organization". Atriushealth.org. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  9. "You are being redirected..." Blog.atriushealth.org. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-02-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Atrius Health - Patient Information". Atriushealth.org. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  12. "Atrius names new CEO". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  13. "Atrius Health: Executive Leadership Team". Atriushealth.com.
  14. "Modern Health Care: Top 25 Clinical Informaticists". Modernhealthcare.com.
  15. "Advanced Health Models and Meaningful Use Workgroup | FACA". Healthit.gov. Archived from the original on 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  16. "History". Atrius Health. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  17. "The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
  18. Atrius Health (June 2, 2017). "Welcome PMG Physician Associates!". Atrius Health Blog. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  19. "Edward B. Noffsinger". Archived from the original on 2011-09-17.
  20. Donnelly, Ally (December 1, 2008). "Shared Medical Appointments Help Provide Better Care". NECN. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07.
  21. TERGESEN, ANNE (December 19, 2009). "Group Healing". Wall Street Journal.
  22. ROSE, JILL (August 1, 2011). "On the Road". Inside Healthcare.
  23. "Lean Transformation". Lean.org.
  24. "Fee for Service: How Long Will It Be Around?: New Payment Models: Do They Help?". Medscape.
  25. Syre, Steve (September 16, 2011). "Hospitals' cost gamble". Boston Globe.
  26. Butler, Brandon (June 21, 2011). "Fallon Clinic To Join Atrius". Worcester Business Journal.
  27. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-02-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. McCluskey, Priyanka Dayal (9 December 2014). "New Atrius will be streamlined, smaller". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  29. "Atrius launches 'innovation center'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  30. "Atrius Health's new CEO focused on innovation to move physician group forward - Boston Business Journal". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
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