Affinity Medical Group awarded recognition by The Medical Group Association
02 / 23 / 2010
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Maria Heim, Media Relations
Affinity Health System
(920) 720-1752
(920) 554-0686 (pager)
MENASHA, Wis. - Affinity Medical Group has been named a “better performer” in The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Performance and Practices of Successful Medical Groups: 2009 Report Based on 2008 Data. The recognition is based on Affinity Medical Group’s superior operational performance compared with similar medical group practices nationwide.
Affinity Medical Group was recognized as a better performer in the category of profitability and cost management. The status was achieved through implementing lean processes such as the medical home model. The Affinity Medical Home is a new approach to primary health care. Staff members work as a team to address patient care needs. Patients continue to have a strong relationship with a primary care physician (PCP), but the physician’s time is more effectively utilized by relying on other team members to assist with collecting information.
This is the first year Affinity Medical Group has been recognized as a better performer through MGMA, and is the only health system in the area to be recognized in its category.
“By managing costs through day-to-day operations, we’re able pass savings along to patients and employers,” said Tim Loch, chief operating officer of Affinity Medical Group. “Personalized care is all about putting the patient in the center.”
The MGMA report, a benchmarking standard among medical groups for over a decade, was produced using data from respondents to the MGMA Cost Survey: 2009 Reports Based on 2008 Data as well as data from a questionnaire that assessed management behaviors, practices and procedures of better performers. The report profiles medical practices that have demonstrated success in one or more areas: profitability and cost management; productivity, capacity and staffing; accounts receivable and collections; patient satisfaction; and managed care operations.
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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a Catholic mission-oriented regional health care network, is a partnership of Ministry Health Care and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Affinity Health System is the Fox Valley’s third-largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and has been nationally listed for two years in a row among the top 50 hospitals for quality and efficiency (Thomson Reuters, Modern Healthcare; 2009, 2010). For eight consecutive years, Affinity Health System has been named to the SDI Health (formerly Verispan) Integrated Health Network Top 100, an annual assessment of the 100 most highly integrated health care networks in the nation – Affinity ranks no. 29 in the 2009 report. Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Network Health Plan has achieved Excellent accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible level. It has been nationally ranked in the Top 50 Health Insurance Plans for five consecutive years in the U.S. News and World Report/NCQA Best Health Plans in America listing. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 26 family practice and specialty clinics – including two fully operational Medical Home models – in 14 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; Network Health Plan, Menasha; and Affinity Occupational Health.