Tandigm Health signs agreements with nearly 270 "founding physicians"

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 5, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandigm Health today announced that nearly 270 individual primary care physicians have signed multi-year agreements to serve as the "founding physicians" of the Tandigm Health network. Through their participation, Tandigm Health has established a leading network of primary care physicians in southeastern Pennsylvania dedicated to improving quality and efficiency through a transformational system of physician-led, coordinated care. At the center of this model are patients, their families, and their physicians.

Launched in April, 2014, Tandigm Health is a unique company, based in Philadelphia, formed by affiliates of Independence Blue Cross (Independence) and HealthCare Partners (a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners). Tandigm Health is focused on organizing high-quality, affordable health care in the region by combining the expertise of one of the country's largest, most innovative Blue insurers and a nationally recognized leader of physician-centric care.

"We are excited to collaborate with some of the most talented, dedicated, and forward-thinking primary care physicians in the Philadelphia region," said Dr. Anthony Coletta, president and CEO of Tandigm Health. "Achieving this milestone significantly advances Tandigm Health's physician-centric coordinated care model, which we have created to reward doctors for delivering more personalized, superior care to their patients, emphasizing the quality of care, not the quantity of care."

"We applaud the founding physicians who will serve as change leaders to help create the next generation of health care in our region through Tandigm Health — where tradition meets innovation," said Daniel J. Hilferty, president and CEO of Independence, which together with its affiliates serves nearly 9.0 million people in 24 states and the District of Columbia. "We are grateful for the founding physicians' clinical expertise, insights, and vision as we a blaze a new trail and bring positive change that will have a lasting impact on health care in the Philadelphia region."

Tandigm Health's founding physicians will work collaboratively with Tandigm Health to help build its programs and organized systems of community-based care, while the company continues to recruit and grow its network of primary care physicians.

"We are ready to put our experience and proven methods to work in Philadelphia to create a personalized experience with better clinical outcomes for the patients," said Kent Thiry, co-chairman and CEO of DaVita HealthCare Partners and CEO of HealthCare Partners, which serves 829,000 managed care patients in five states. "We will give primary care physicians the tools and support they need to achieve a new standard of highly coordinated care."

Tandigm Health, whose name is derived from its mission to work in tandem with primary care physicians to create a new paradigm in health care, will provide primary care physicians in the Philadelphia area with leading analytical tools and real-time data to help them better manage difficult chronic conditions and deliver more personalized, high-quality care.

"I am thrilled to collaborate with Tandigm Health in this unique company led by primary care physicians to help improve all areas of our practice, with the shared goal to provide higher levels of quality care to our patients, reduce medical costs, and increase patient satisfaction across the region," said Dr. Barry Green, a founding physician of Tandigm Health, and the founder of Green and Seidner Family Practice in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

In addition, Tandigm Health will offer a range of services to further enhance the delivery of patient care outside the physician's office. The goal: reduce duplicate services, improve patient satisfaction, and help prevent health crises that can drive up costs through emergency room visits.

"I am proud to join an endeavor that truly recognizes the critical role that we as primary care physicians play and rewards us for advancing a new standard of high-quality and cost-effective care," said Allan Crimm, a founding physician of Tandigm Health and managing partner of Ninth Street Internal Medicine Associates in Philadelphia.

Dr. Coletta adds, "Our collaboration with the founding physicians puts us on track with our first-year operational goal to build and grow our network of doctors and the patients they serve. I am excited by the overwhelming response from doctors to collaborate with Tandigm Health — a true demonstration of their strong desire to change the way health care is delivered."

About Tandigm Health
In April 2014, affiliates of Independence Blue Cross and DaVita HealthCare Partners joined together to form Tandigm Health, LLC. Tandigm Health is a unique company that draws on the expertise of Independence, one of the country's largest, most innovative Blue insurers, and HealthCare Partners, a nationally recognized leader of physician-centric care, in creating a network of physicians that are dedicated to providing high-quality, affordable health care in Philadelphia and the surrounding region. For more information please visit tandigmhealth.com.