The San Francisco Bay area is getting a new accountable care organization courtesy of the formation of a new company by two healthcare powerhouses in the region.
UCSF Medical Center and John Muir Health announced on Tuesday that they had signed a letter of intent to create a company that would be both a funding vehicle for future joint initiatives and a shared services organization supporting programs and initiatives focused on improved healthcare and lower costs. UCSF Medical Center and John Muir Health will remain independent. The new company will be equally owned and operated by both, the two organizations said in a press release.
“By combining John Muir Health and UCSF’s strengths, we aim to offer patients the highest value system of care available,” said Mark R. Laret, CEO of UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, in the press release. “We look forward to working not just with each other, but with other health organizations throughout Northern California, in order to provide an exceptional health care experience for patients.”
“We looked at a number of affiliation options that would allow us to grow without compromising our mission, vision and independence,” added Cal Knight, president and CEO of John Muir Health. “We found the right fit with UCSF and look forward to the development, along with other partners, of a regional ACO that will benefit patients and the communities we serve.”
While a final agreement is expected by the end of the year, the two organizations are already moving to get the new company’s first project off the ground – a San Francisco Bay area-wide ACO. Both organizations have experience operating ACOs that have resulted in lower healthcare costs and quality of care improvements, the two companies said in the press release.
With the formal affiliation, the two organizations also plan on coordinating the rollout of their Epic electronic medical record systems and patient communication portals and creating enhanced physician practice management services that will enable area physicians to affiliate with the new company and the ACO.