Tufts Medical Center in Boston and Lowell (Mass.) General Hospital are working together to create a new regional health system.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and details were sparse. However, the unnamed parent organization would be led by Lowell General CEO Normand Deschene, while former Tufts CEO Ellen Zane would serve as chairperson. The new system would focus on population health management through data analytics, group purchasing savings and other value-based tenets of healthcare reform.
The transaction would not be a merger, as Tufts, Lowell General and their physician groups would all maintain local governance.
"We believe in keeping physicians close to patients and removing the barriers that stand in the way of patients receiving care at the right time in the most appropriate setting, conveniently and affordably," Mr. Deschene said in a news release. "This partnership with Tufts Medical Center will do just that. The new system will allow us to build and strengthen connections, remove obstacles and ultimately ensure that patients are navigating a far less complex healthcare experience."
In June 2012, Saints Medical Center in Lowell merged with Lowell General, creating the two-campus hospital it is today. Tufts is a 415-bed academic medical center, serving as the primary teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine, and it also includes a full-service pediatric hospital, Floating Hospital for Children.
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