Northeast Medical Group, Yale Medicine align to improve access, service to patients

In March, Yale New Haven Health (YNHHS) and Yale School of Medicine (YSM) articulated a commitment to align to realize their full potential as one of the nation’s premier academic health systems. 

YNHHS and YSM recently announced a new aligned physician practice model that will enable coordination between Yale Medicine, the YSM faculty practice plan, and Northeast Medical Group (NEMG), the YNHHS-employed practice plan. 

The imperative for increased alignment stems from the organizations’ recognition that they must put patients’ needs first. Today, patients struggle to access services and understand and navigate our complex organizational structures. They deserve the best, and both organizations are focused on creating and delivering this patient experience. 

Margaret McGovern, MD, PhD, has been named chief physician executive of the aligned physician services. Dr. McGovern will continue to serve as CEO of Yale Medicine and deputy dean for Clinical Affairs in the School of Medicine. Richard Goldstein, MD, has been named senior vice president for YNHHS, with responsibility for NEMG. Yale Medicine and NEMG, with its affiliated community physician groups, will remain separate legal entities. 

The newly aligned physician enterprise will enable a coordinated strategy to enhance quality, service and access. It will decrease fragmentation and increase communication and standardization across physician practices. It will further improve operational efficiency and help facilitate a single point of entry for patients to access care. 

Greater alignment will also result in better service and access for physician partners in the community. Alignment will offer a seamless and timely experience to physicians referring patients and interacting with YNHHS. This is a critical first step toward the formation of a common quality platform with community physicians and surgeons through a clinically integrated network. 

Finally, alignment will make it easier to grow to meet the needs of the region and build destination programs with national and international prominence. The goal is to provide more patients with greater access to cutting-edge therapies across the system. In this way, the organizations will also further their clinical research and educational missions. 

In a recent memo announcing the alignment, Christopher O’Connor, YNHHS CEO and president, and Nancy Brown, MD, YSM Jean and David W. Wallace dean of medicine and C.N.H. Long professor of internal medicine, said, “We are truly excited about the opportunity to serve our patients and our physician partners in the community. Ultimately, this work will enable us to realize our full potential as a leading academic health system.”