Burbank, CA 91505-4542
(818) 637-2000
Regal Medical Group (RMG)
With a network spanning more than 5,000 square miles and thousands of health care providers, Regal Medical Group is part of one of Southern California's largest managed health networks. That size works to your advantage, allowing us to be there to coordinate all of your health care, when and where you need us. In spite of our size, we remain rooted in close community and operate upon the simple, traditional principles of knowing our customer, and providing respectful, personal, quality care.
At Regal, we know that navigating the healthcare system can be complicated for patients and for physicians. We also believe that during a visit to your doctor, the focus should be on health and wellness. You should be discussing things like prevention, diagnosis, treatment and healing, not coverage, networks, claims, regulations and billing. That's where an IPA, like Regal Medical Group, is able to serve both patients and physicians, by managing the business of managed care so that you don't have to.
Regal Medical Group works together with your healthcare plan and your PCP to keep things running smoothly. We collaborate with our physicians to provide quality care, while focusing on minimizing your out of pocket expenses. One way that we keep your overall health care costs low is by emphasizing preventative care in order to keep you healthy.
« BackSierra Medical Group (SMG)
Sierra Medical Group represents the future of medicine. Throughout our twenty five year history serving Antelope Valley, we have diligently invested our time and resources in the development of programs and services responsive to the healthcare needs of today's patient, while adapting to the increasingly diverse needs of tomorrow's health care agenda.
At SMG your health is our priority. An excellent team of specialty physicians who are either board certified or board eligible supports our primary care physicians providing you with a comprehensive healthcare network that is fully committed to your individual needs.
At SMG, we work hard to ensure that our patients receive quality medical care. This is why you will find easy access to your doctor, minimal waiting time for referrals, and staff members that genuinely care for your well-being.
« BackDesert Oasis Health Care (DOHC)
DOHC is a team of highly skilled primary care physicians and ancillary providers, servicing the community with all their health care needs from newborn to senior care. We have convenient locations throughout the Coachella Valley, Morongo Basin and Yucca Valley areas.
DOHC’s services include access to 6 Immediate and Urgent Care Centers - Bermuda Dunes, Indio, Palm Desert, Palm Springs and Yucca Valley. Our programs include Living and Aging Well, Home Health Services and Medication Management Services which are committed to improving your health proactively.
We are affiliated with every hospital in the Coachella Valley, which includes Eisenhower Memorial Hospital, Desert Regional Medical Center, John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital and Hi-Desert Medical Center.
« BackBakersfield Family Medical Center (BFMC)
Bakersfield Family Medical Center provides excellence in health care to our patients in professional settings that promote wellness and preventive medicine in Kern County. Throughout the twenty year history of our medical group, we have diligently invested our resources in the development of programs and services responsive to the healthcare needs of today’s patient while adapting to the increasingly diverse needs of tomorrow’s healthcare agenda.
Our facilities offer superior patient convenience by providing Urgent Care, Pharmacy, Lab, Radiology, Pediatrics and a variety of specialty services at one convenient site. In addition, the Heritage Physician Network is a group of physicians located throughout Kern County who have joined together to form an Independent Physicians Association (IPA). These IPA physicians remain affiliated with BFMC although they maintain their own individual offices. Members who choose physicians in Heritage Physician Network will see their selected doctors in their conveniently located private offices. All members of Heritage Physician Network can access the full range of services, programs and specialists offered by BFMC.
« BackCoastal Communities Physician Network (CCPN)
CCPN is an Independent Practice Association (IPA) formed in 2006, consisting of a network of contracted physicians located throughout the San Luis Obispo and Tulare counties. These IPA physicians are affiliated with BFMC/CCPN for the coordination of care rendered to members who have selected CCPN as their primary medical group. Members who choose physicians of CCPN will see their doctors in their conveniently located private offices and also have access to a whole network of out-of-area specialists. All members of CCPN can access a full range of services, programs and specialists through these contracted providers.
« BackHigh Desert Medical Group (HDMG)
HDMG has a long-standing promise to provide residents of the Antelope Valley with the highest quality health care possible. Living up to our promise is an on-going commitment, which necessitates our growth as a multi-specialty medical group providing a wide range of health care services for our patients. For more than 25 years, we've been fortunate to have an impressive team of health care professionals, administrators, support personnel and dedicated volunteers who work in unison to help us deliver on our promise.
Together, we partner with local hospitals, medical experts and business leaders, and we actively support numerous organizations, educational, cultural and recreational events. Our team of healthcare professionals is available and ready to help you with all of your medical needs. We accept over 85 different health plans, including HMO, PPO, POS, EPO, Private and Medicare plans. Our Lancaster facility offers the convenience of having your Primary Care Physician, Lab, X-Ray, Urgent Care, Pharmacy, a Health Education Department, Infusion Center, and a multitude of subspecialties all under the same roof. In addition, our Urgent Care is now open daily 6am - 8pm.
« BackHeritage Victor Valley Medical Group (HVVMG)
Heritage Victor Valley Medical Group has exceeded our members’ expectations since its inception in 2003 through personalized care by a staff of skilled professionals, a speedy referral system, and a panel of specialists to serve all your medical needs.
We believe the most important aspect of healthcare is tending to the personal needs of our patients. Our facilities are equipped with some of the finest diagnostic equipment and technicians available. We have the resources and commitment to always bring the best to meet the new challenges and ever-changing health care needs of the Victor Valley region.
« BackLakeside Medical Group (LMG)
Lakeside Medical Group is a comprehensive healthcare provider with a network of physicians and services throughout the San Fernando, San Gabriel and Santa Clarita Valleys, as well as parts of Ventura and San Bernardino Counties. We aim to deliver quality, affordable healthcare to the communities we serve.
We bring more than 20 years of innovation in healthcare delivery and management systems to our integrated network of services, which include hundreds of primary care physicians and over a thousand specialists; ancillary services, such as an outpatient surgery center, urgent care centers and physical therapy; and affiliations with premier hospitals, labs and other support services.
Our commitment to complete patient care includes developing new and better ways of delivering healthcare. From our approach to prevention and disease management to our hospitalist program and more, your care is coordinated so that you have the best possible outcomes.
« BackADOC Medical Group (ADOC)
ADOC Medical Group (ADOC) is an independent practice association, a medical group of over 275 private physicians and 600 specialty physicians who are dedicated to providing affordable, quality healthcare for individuals of all ages. We are affiliated with most major health plans, including many HMOs.
With offices throughout the greater Orange County area, chances are board-certified primary care physician and board certified specialists you need are in your own neighborhood.
Our goal is to help you make better care decisions for yourself and your family.
« BackHeritage Provider Network Develops Tracking Software for Pioneer ACO
Media Contact for HPN:
Janet Janjigian, Carmen Group Westjanjigianj@carmengroup.com
Heritage Provider Network is no stranger to risk:
The organization has worked under global risk arrangements since 1979, and in fact was the first in the country to accept global risk, asserts Richard Merkin, M.D., Heritage president and CEO. So when the network decided to become a Medicare Pioneer accountable care organization, it had many of the needed case management processes and systems in place.
What it didn't have was health information technology (IT) capabilities that could handle complex population health management, especially with ACO patients who can see any physicians they want. Therefore, the organization, which operates with 10 affiliated medical groups and independent practice associations in eight counties in southern, central and coastal California, decided to tackle the problem in-house.
Heritage's robust in-house IT team, featuring computer software developers, electrical engineers and experts in artificial intelligence, examined the issues involved, Merkin says. "We realized for the ACO program we needed something more focused and more specifically geared toward stratifying and meeting quality measures, along with tracking communications [between providers]," he tells ABN.
Heritage already was using NextGen Healthcare electronic health records in its wholly owned clinics, and also uses "off-the-shelf" EZ-CAP software from MZI Healthcare L.L.C. to handle some administrative functions, Merkin says. But it identified gaps in the capability to track patients in real time, he says. As a result, Heritage developed its own patented software, Q-ACO, which allows the organization to "know where patients are in the system at any one time," while also stratifying patients, Merkin says. The tool "allows everyone that's touching a patient to know when a patient is in the hospital or is contacting any provider," he says.
"Frequently in an ACO you'd be responsible for care, but if a patient goes to see someone else, you wouldn't be aware of it," he says. "This integrates all care so everyone can view it. It makes the ACO the quarterback." The Q-ACO software has developed into such a powerful tool that Heritage has begun licensing it to other ACOs, he says. The organization also has developed algorithms to see which frail and elderly patients are most likely to be hospitalized, he says. In addition, "we have a stratified process that identifies individuals who would most benefit from interventions," he says. In one group, these interventions dropped the hospital readmission rate from 20% to 6%, he says. "We have internally grown a number of IT data analytic programs we use to manage all our lives," Merkin adds.
Heritage has invested "many, many, many, many millions of dollars" into its ACO program, Merkin says. "It's a different product - we needed different leadership and different executives. It was just too much for one group of executives to handle" along with all of Heritage's other initiatives, he says. However, Merkin confidently answers "yes" when asked if he expects Heritage to earn back enough in Pioneer shared savings to make the program worthwhile. The organization did not sign the February letter from 18 of the 32 Pioneers asking CMS to delay certain pay-for-performance provisions in the Pioneer program (see box, p. 8).
Heritage's 100,000 Medicare Pioneer members represent about 12% to 14% of its total members, Merkin says. It also has about 140,000 Medicare Advantage members, plus another 40,000 Medicare patients in the Medicare Shared Savings Program in an affiliated independent physician organization in Arizona.
Pioneer was a no-brainer for Heritage, Merkin says. "When Medicare was moving towards that, we were ecstatic - we feel coordinated care is the solution to the health care crisis, and our goal is to achieve the triple aim," he says.