HUP starts move to primary care

As part of a national trend toward managed health care, the University Health System is moving ahead with its plans to turn the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania into a primary care center. To that end, the system, which encompasses the University Medical Center, acquired the Phoenixville Medical Associates (PMA), a group of 17 primary care physicians and eight subspecialists, effective January 1. PMA is the first of many primary care groups which will be added to the Health System's growing network of primary care physicians and nurses. "By joining the resources of the Health System with the talents and skills of our newest faculty physicians, we have enhanced our ability to provide a full spectrum of health care services to all our patients," William Kelley, Chief Executive Officer of the University Medical Center and Health System, said in a prepared statement. Vice President of the Medical Center and HUP executive director William Pittinger agreed with Kelly. "We're delighted we were able to acquire PMA," Pittinger said. "PMA is the best general practice in the tri-state area and the second largest on the Pennsylvania side." Pittinger said the move is at the heart of a national trend toward managed care in medicine. "We're not yet as fully developed as we should be under the evolution of managed care," he said. The University Health System plans to buy out between 100 and 200 practices of Philadelphia area primary care physicians, according to Health System officials. "Health care is going toward managed care and Washington will accelerate that tendency," said Joel Eisner, president of PMA. "Large groupings of doctors will cover the entire region." The acquisition will offer more training opportunities for University medical students and residents in a community based setting. "Traditional training programs don't give [the experience] like they used to," said Eisner. "We will help them with their training and further research by providing a wider circle of patients." The University is not the only group benefitting from the acquisition, Eisner said. "The University Health System is a world class institution," said Eisner, who has become associate dean of Regional Clinical Development of the Health System. "We are flattered that we are the cornerstone. "Medicine is going toward an integrated health system – a large group of physicians in entire regions which work from one hub," Eisner added. The acquisition will not alter the care of current PMA members, Pittinger said.

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