A solution for today and tomorrow.
When it comes to the future of medicine in this country, there are as many proposed solutions as there are individual interests. Doctors want to direct individual care decisions. Patients want the best possible care. Employers and insurers want cost-effective performance. The current system is poorly designed to meet these demands.

There is a better way to meet the challenges of the future. And it’s being done everyday at Accountable Physician Practices.

Across the country, Accountable Physician Practices and multispecialty medical groups are demonstrating the benefits of coordinating resources and focusing expertise on patient needs. Doctors are working together, supported by the latest medical knowledge and empowered to improve the quality of care. Patients have greater confidence, knowing their primary doctor is part of a comprehensive team of specialists that is dedicated to helping them stay healthy and meeting their needs, whenever they arise. Better practices are building better results and, ultimately, greater value for everyone.

• “Health care services need to be organized and financed in ways that make sense to patients and clinicians and that foster coordination of care and collaborative work. . . . The current delivery system responds primarily to acute and urgent health problems, emphasizing diagnosis, ruling out serious conditions, and relieving symptoms (Wagner et al, 1996b). Those with chronic conditions are better served by a systematic approach that emphasizes self-management, care planning with a multidisciplinary team, and ongoing assessment and follow-up (Wagner et al, 1996a).”
—Source: “Crossing the Quality Chasm” report published by the Institute of Medicine, 2001

• “To meet the quality, affordability, and access challenges of today’s health care system, the Institute of Medicine’s Crossing the Quality Chasm report described the critical competencies of a twenty-first century health care system. A growing body of research suggests that the nation’s multispecialty group practices most nearly meet the delivery system challenges set forth by the IOM.”
—Source: “The Delivery System Matters,” by Francis J. Crosson, Health Affairs, December, 2005

We have the foundation. Together, we can make health care work better.

“CAPP’s 35 MSMGs [multispecialty medical groups] share a common vision as learning organizations dedicated to the improvement of clinical care. Their features include physician leadership and governance; commitment to evidence-based care management processes; well-developed quality improvement systems; team-based care; the use of advance clinical information technology; and the collection, analysis, and distribution of clinical performance information. These features are congruent with the [Institute of Medicine’s] recommendations on key elements needed to redesign delivery systems.”

From Chapter 5, “Developing the Test Bed—Linking Integrated Service Delivery Systems: Council of Accountable Physician Practices,” by Michael A. Mustile, MD. The Learning Healthcare System: Workshop Summary (IOM Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine), edited by LeighAnne Olsen, Dara Aisner, and J. Michael McGinnis, National Academies Press, 2007.

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“A shift from the current care model to a more coordinated care model centered on primary care is one potential way to help stave off the healthcare dilemma.”

“It's too expensive to be a primary-care doctor,” by Debra A. Geihsler, president and CEO of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates & Atrius Health. Boston Globe, July 25, 2007.

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Medicare Payment Advisory Committee’s March 2007 Report to the Congress: “In three of the four [metropolitan statistical] areas, beneficiaries whose main physician was in multispecialty or hospital-affiliated groups had lower average annual spending than beneficiaries whose main physician was in solo or single-specialty groups. At the highest quintile of spending, all four areas show lower average spending for beneficiaries whose main physicians were in multispecialty or hospital-affiliated groups.”

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