New system structure of hospitalist services will mean improved outcomes and lower costs for area patients
Lee Memorial Health System Forms Unique Partnership with Newly Formed Local Physician Group Led by Cogent HMG
(LMHS) announced today they have formed a unique relationship with a newly formed physician group, (ISSF), to manage and provide hospitalist services across the four-hospital health system.
ISSF is a local physician service organization, newly formed through a partnership of two longtime physician affiliates of the health system, , a national leader in hospitalist and intensivist services for hospitals and post-acute care facilities, and , a local hospitalist physician group. This decision follows a multi-year effort by LMHS to progressively restructure its hospital medicine services for greater consistency and efficiency to benefit the patients and physicians of the Southwest Florida community.
“We are delighted to have formed this partnership with a focus on improving patient care across our hospitals,” said , Chief Medical Officer, LMHS. “Our affiliation with ISSF is reflective of our commitment to serve our community in a manner that allows us to excel under healthcare reform and puts patients first as we work to improve the patient experience, the quality of care and improve the coordination of patients as they transition from a hospital back to their primary care physician in the community.”
ISSF is providing a comprehensive hospital medicine program that spans across the health system – a unique approach to an increasingly critical service for patients that is often fragmented in large health systems.
The relationship between LMHS and ISSF is aimed at ultimately benefitting patients, physicians, and hospital staff and is designed to meet the goals of improving: quality of care and patient outcomes; physician, nursing staff, and patient satisfaction; accountability, leadership and management of the hospital medicine service line; and better positioning LMHS for healthcare reform.
“This innovative approach to structuring patient care coordination is truly a positive outcome in the evolution of healthcare,” said , CEO of Cogent HMG. “We believe this new and unique partnership is an approach that will prove successful for forward-thinking hospital systems like LMHS that are looking to simultaneously improve the quality of patient care while making it more affordable through coordinated care across the system and into post-acute settings.”
Hospitalists are key to bringing tighter coordination and standardization of patient care to hospitals, reducing length of stay and lowering the costs of inpatient care, said Michael O. Leavitt, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a three-time Governor of Utah and founder and chairman of , a healthcare intelligence firm.
“The unique partnership between Lee Memorial Health System and Inpatient Specialists of Southwest Florida is the kind our healthcare system needs to meet the challenges of the future,” Leavitt said. “Innovative partnerships like this one change the way care is delivered at the source, eliminating the errors and waste that occur when each caregiver looks at just a slice of the patient’s care instead of the whole picture.”
Locally-based Inpatient Specialists of Southwest Florida is comprised of approximately 35 hospitalists, who are physicians specializing in the care of patients during their hospitalization. The majority of these physicians are already established in the Southwest Florida area and were formerly with Hospitalist Group of Southwest Florida or employed by Cogent HMG locally to serve LMHS.
“Our group, which has been serving this community for 7 years, is excited to partner with Cogent HMG to bring a cohesive, innovative service to the hospitals and physicians of Lee County,” said Joseph Daley, M.D., Director of Quality Services, ISSF. “This is a progressive approach by LMHS that will enhance patient care for years to come.”
Cogent HMG, which has been caring for patients in LMHS hospitals for over 10 years, is a recognized industry expert in improving patient outcomes through hospitalist and intensivist services. It will provide infrastructure, local management, national expertise and best practices to ISSF.
ISSF will oversee hospitalist care at each of LMHS’ four hospitals, including , , , and . ISSF has already begun providing services to each of the four Southwest Florida hospitals. For more information about ISSF, visit: .
Open since 1916, Lee Memorial Health System is the fifth largest public health system in the United States and the largest community-owned health system in Southwest Florida. With more than 10,000 employees, the system is made up of four acute care hospitals and two specialty hospitals, as well as outpatient centers, walk-in medical centers and primary care and specialty physician offices. An award-winning health care system, it provides regional programs, such as our Trauma Center and Children’s Hospital, which serve our community members from Tampa to Miami. Visit for more information.
Cogent HMG is the nation’s largest private hospitalist company, partnering with more than 100 hospitals across the country to build and manage high-performing hospitalist and intensivist programs. Through our management and consulting services, Cogent HMG focuses on relentlessly improving efficiency and quality of inpatient care, by supporting hospitalists and intensivists with technology and operational infrastructure, a coordinated clinical care team, data-driven processes, rigorous ongoing training and experienced leadership.
Founded by physicians who were pioneers of the hospital medicine industry, the company is dedicated to the advancement of the field by setting best practices and through its established national mentoring program, Cogent HMG Academy™. For more information, visit .