CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, The Daily incorrectly attributed quotes to Kanani Quijano, marketing and communications specialist of University HealthCare Alliance (UHA). These quotes should have been attributed to Bruce Harrison, UHA chief administrative officer and vice president of network development for Stanford Hospital & Clinics. The Daily regrets the error.
Stanford Hospital & Clinics has partnered with several Bay Area medical practices to form the University HealthCare Alliance (UHA), a not-for-profit medical foundation that manages medical groups.
UHA was founded on Jan. 1, 2011, and is co-sponsored by Stanford Hospital & Clinics and the Stanford University School of Medicine. According to the medical foundation model, UHA owns, operates and provides staff to medical clinics in Northern California. It also contracts with several individual medical groups who employ physicians and advanced practitioners to provide medical care to patients at UHA clinics.
According to the San Francisco Business Times, this alliance may pose “increased competition for other health systems,” including Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health.
“Health care is undergoing many changes from a regulatory perspective, making it more important than ever for doctors and hospitals to work together,” said Bruce Harrison, UHA chief administrative officer and vice president of network development for Stanford Hospital & Clinic. “Our mission is to deliver value to our patients. An affiliation between SHC and community physicians enables us to provide coordinated preventive, chronic, acute and long-term care.”
According to Harrison, UHA’s goals include providing “high quality clinical care and continuing to make significant advances in medicine.”
“In action and attitude, the patient will be at the center of everything,” Harrison added.
The alliance was formed under the premise that that having multiple providers and facilities would help the customer’s experience.
“Our team is a diverse group of people with a wealth of skills and experiences, joined together by a shared set of values,” Harrison said. “We value our patients and take pride in ensuring they are provided with compassionate care and service. We put the patient first in all we do and always remember that caring for the individual patient and their family is at the heart of our mission and philosophy. Through the collective and coordinated efforts of our team, we apply our diverse experience to benefit patients.”
Currently, the medical foundation includes multi-specialty medical practices with over 110 physicians and 15 advanced practitioners. UHA has 10 locations, with two clinics in Menlo Park and others in Hayward, Castro Valley, Danville, Pleasanton, San Jose, San Pablo, Alameda and Pinole.
The Bay Valley Medical Group (BMVG) partnered with UHA last year in October, representing over 350 physicians that provide primary and specialty medical care, with 27 physicians and four office locations in the East Bay.
According to the Bay Valley Medical Group News website, “The affiliation of UHA and BVMG helps both partners flourish in the complex, increasingly competitive and rapidly changing health care environment. It will strengthen BVMG’s ability to adapt to local, regional and national forces while enhancing growth and supporting the community-based service model here in the East Bay.”
BMVG notes that, although the affiliation will not impact its availability to take care of its patients, and that individuals and families can continue to see the physicians they have been seeing, patients may observe changes in the management support because “UHA brings new information technology.”
This includes the addition of an electronic health record and more online communication tools for BMVG.
UHA expects that the Affinity Medical Group (AMP) will join the alliance later this year in February. AMP includes more than 25 physicians, and is a growing multi-specialty group comprised of AMP itself, Alameda Pediatrics Associates and other groups in the East Bay.
UHA’s Board of Directors includes members of Stanford Hospital & Clinics, the Stanford School of Medicine and community members and physicians.
“We believe that by fostering more cohesive working relationships between high quality community physicians and SHC, we can ultimately enhance customer value for patients and their families, and improve clinical practice across a broader enterprise,” Harrison said.