Washington, DC — America’s Physician Groups (APG) is pleased to announce that 80 physician groups earned the coveted ‘Elite’ status in APG’s 2020 Standards of Excellence (SOE®) program. Notably, four new organizations achieved Elite status this year.
APG’s Board of Directors created the SOE® program in 2006 as an annual, comprehensive survey that evaluates the coordinated care infrastructure and value-based care performance of its accountable physician group members. Now in its 14th year, the SOE® survey assesses organizations based on six rigorous categories:
- Care Management Practices
- Patient-Centered Care
- Information Technology
- Group Support of Advanced Primary Care
- Accountability and Transparency
- Administrative and Financial Capability
“It’s gratifying to see so many of our members meeting and exceeding the ever-rising benchmarks and standards in value-based care,” said Donald H. Crane, APG President and CEO. “From small individual physician associations to large health systems, we’re seeing organizations of all sizes that are improving patient health outcomes by continually optimizing their risk-based, coordinated care.”
Every year, APG’s Clinical Quality Leadership Committee adds new elements to each category to set a higher standard than the year before to meet rising national healthcare standards and increased expectations of government agencies, purchasers, payors, and patients. Participants in the annual SOE® survey receive between zero and five stars based on their performance delivering risk-based, coordinated care in the six categories. APG collaborates with the National Committee for Quality Assurance on the application, analysis, scoring, and review of the SOE® survey.
The SOE® program is open to all of APG’s 300+ members in 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This year, 115 medical groups, health systems, and independent practice associations (IPAs) participated in the voluntary survey. Collectively, these groups cover 15 million people with commercial insurance, 3.1 million people with Medicare Advantage, and 3.5 million people with Medicaid.
“I’m very proud of our members for their continued success in SOE®, especially in light of a very difficult year for all of us—in the midst of a pandemic and public health crisis,” said Amy Nguyen Howell, MD, APG Chief Medical Officer. “Seeing so many of our members receive the highly coveted Elite status confirms what we know—physician groups across the country are leaders in the ongoing value movement.”
This year’s SOE® Elite-status recipients will be formally recognized at the APG Colloquium 2020, November 17–19.
For more information about the SOE® program, visit https://www.apg.org/education/education-programs/standards-of-excellence/.
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About America’s Physician Groups
America’s Physician Groups is a not-for-profit, mission-driven association organized to assist accountable physician groups to improve the quality and value of healthcare provided to patients. America’s Physician Groups represents and supports physician groups that assume responsibility for clinically integrated, comprehensive, and coordinated healthcare on behalf of our patients. In California, APG represents over 180 physician groups across the state. Visit us at www.apg.org.
Contact: Greg Phillips, APG Director of Communications, 202-770-1901, gphillips@apg.org
