The Cleveland Clinic has partnered with The CORE Institute, an orthopedic group based in Phoenix, OrthoCarolina, an independent academic orthopedic practice based in Charlotte, N.C., and the Rothman Institute, a private orthopedic practice based in Philadelphia, to form the National Orthopaedic & Spine Alliance, an orthopedic physician hospital organization.
The clinically integrated PHO with nearly 600 physicians has three main focuses: improving quality and consistency of care, reducing costs and operational inefficiencies and providing greater access to expertise, data and experience, according to the news release.
"This is a monumental step in ensuring patients around the nation in need of orthopedic or spine care will be able to receive it and have peace of mind knowing there is a high-quality provider located nearby. The fact that these leading groups are working together to offer the highest quality, peer-reviewed service that employers and patients can have access to is really unprecedented," Joseph Iannotti, MD, PhD, chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Orthopaedic and Rheumatologic Institute and president of the PHO's board, said in the release.
David Jacofsky, MD, chairman and CEO of The CORE Institute, added, "The CORE Institute believes that this PHO, and its founders, will help define the way in which top orthopedic groups are able to share data and improve quality in a more comprehensive, automated and integrated way and will redefine the way in which employers can access medical care for employees based on outcomes data."
In addition to the three founding members, a letter of intent has been signed with OrthoIndy and OrthoCalifornia to enroll the providers in the PHO.
The National Orthopaedic & Spine Alliance expects to see patients in January 2014.
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