Modern Healthcare Magazine has named Group Health president and CEO Scott Armstrong one of the 100 most powerful people in health care. This marks the second year in a row Armstrong has made the list, ranking No. 38 both years. President Obama and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Don Berwick are also among the names on the 2011 list. 

For the fifth report in a row, our group practice received the most top ratings on quality care measures in the Puget Sound Health Alliance (PSHA) Community Checkup. Comparing 80 medical groups and more than 300 clinics in Western Washington, the report is a trustworthy resource for consumers and employers who want to make informed choices about their care.
See how we compare to others 

Health Data Management Magazine

To help patients decide between certain surgical and non-surgical treatments, Group Health Physicians doctors provide videos with procedure details and other patients’ experiences, following up with decision-making conversations. Doctors embed links to the videos in members’ electronic medical records, in secure e-mails, and in referrals sent to specialists. These shared decision-making aids for 12 preference-sensitive conditions have been given to 11,000 patients since Group Health adopted the tools in 2007. Full article 

Hospitalist and internal medicine physician Amanda Lee, MD, has been named in the 2011 Puget Sound Business Journal's "40 Under 40".

For the past 12 years, the program has identified individuals under the age of forty that are leaders in their businesses, industries and communities. Dr. Lee is being honored in part for her role in implementing EDHI and for leading the operations of the Hospitalist and Consultative Internal Medicine Department at Group Health.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Amanda Lee on her achievement and look for her full profile and those of the other honorees in the September 9th issue of the Puget Sound Business Journal. For more information, visit www.40under40seattle.com. 

Annals of Internal Medicine trial compared massage types at Group Health

Massage therapy helps ease chronic low back pain and improve function, according to a randomized controlled trial in the July 5 Annals of Internal Medicine. The first study to compare structural and relaxation (Swedish) massage, the trial found that both types of massage worked well, with few side effects.

"We found that massage helps people with back pain to function even after six months," said trial leader Daniel C. Cherkin, PhD, a senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute. Better function means they are more able to work, take care of themselves, and be active.

Learn more here. 

 

Qualis Health awarded Group Health a 2010 Awards of Excellence in Healthcare Quality at the Northwest Patient Safety Conference on May 19 in Tukwila. The award recognized Group Health for a pharmacy study that measured improvements in patient safety when a clinical pharmacist helps patients manage their medication after being discharged from the hospital.

The study found that involvement by the clinical pharmacist, post-discharge, is associated with a statistically and clinically significant reduction in hospital readmissions. The work involved extensive collaboration between contracted hospitals across Washington state, Group Health care managers and physicians, Pharmacy staff, and the IT Department. 

KSPS public television-Spokane

Dr. Tom Schaaf participates in a panel discussion to talk about how providers, the state, business and the insurance industry are getting ready for health care reform. 

Group Health and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) are finalizing a new affiliation that will broaden treatment options for our medical oncology patients served at Bellevue, Olympia, Seattle and Tacoma medical centers. "Our patients will have more options to stay with their Group Health oncologist while accessing some of the clinical studies offered by SCCA," says Oncology Medical Chief Eric Chen, MD.  Read more 

A GHP physician and founder of the Group Health Research Institute has won the nation’s premier honor for studying ways to deliver health care. Created in 1983, GHRI is a non-proprietary, public-domain research institution within the Group Health system. Its mission is to improve health care through leading-edge research, innovation, and dissemination. Dr. Wagner also established GHRI’s MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation, which he still directs, where his team developed the internationally recognized Chronic Care Model, an evidence-based framework that seeks to improve the delivery of safe, effective, and collaborative care to patients.  Read more 

Columbia Medical Associates (CMA), a group of more than 50 primary care providers with 75,000 patients in the Spokane region, has signed a letter of intent with Group Health Physicians and Group Health Cooperative to be acquired as a separate but aligned entity.  Read more 

Seven Group Health physicians were named in Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living's 2011 Best Doctors list. The current issue of the magazine lists family physicians James M. Bingham, MD, Timothy J. Meyer, MD, and William Sayres, MD; oncologist Janet Chestnut, MD; and pediatricians David Moershel, MD, Robert E. Piston, MD, and Tim Seppa, MD, as among the region's best physicians. 

Healthcare Finance News - The Council of Accountable Physician Practices (CAPP), an affiliate of the American Medical Group Association, today announced a new initiative to provide the public, media, and policymakers with resources and information about the value of care coordination and accountable care to national health care reform. CAPP is a consortium of some of America's most prominent physician-led group practices and organized health systems, such as the Geisinger Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Vanguard, and Group Health, to name a few. Read more  

More than 250 physicians, health care leaders, experts, and administrators came together on March 25 for a Group Health–hosted event focused on solutions for transforming health care. The day-long conference included presentations by numerous Group Health physician leaders and clinical staff on shared decision making, medical home, transitions for patient-centered care, high-end imaging, chronic illness care, and many other timely topics.  Read more