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Allegheny Health Network, Highmark Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine Announce Collaboration - 12/22/2014

Allegheny Health Network, Highmark Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine Announce Collaboration

Organizations will jointly enhance access and affordability of health care services
Release Date: December 22, 2014

Officials at Highmark Health, Allegheny Health Network, Highmark Inc. and Johns Hopkins Medicine today announced the signing of a new master collaboration agreement that will complement the formal oncology collaboration that began earlier this year. These collaborations aim to leverage the collective strengths of the organizations and improve the availability and affordability of health care to Pennsylvania patients.  

“Highmark Health is proud and excited to expand the scope of our partnership with Johns Hopkins to improve patient care today and in the future,” says David L. Holmberg, president and chief executive officer of Highmark Health. “Our goal is to ensure that patients have affordable access to high-quality health care services, and the increased collaboration we anticipate with Johns Hopkins through this agreement is an important step in the fulfillment of that mission.”

“In this ever-changing health care environment, the goal is to provide better care for better value for patients, caregivers and payers,” says Brian Gragnolati, senior vice president of the Johns Hopkins Health System. “It makes sense to find synergies with other entities with similar missions and different strengths.”

The joint objectives of the new collaboration include:

  • Improving access to provide additional options for affordable health care
  • Exploring opportunities for economic efficiencies, including group purchasing, supply chain initiatives and establishing joint ventures, to reduce costs and improve care
  •  Utilizing the vast knowledge and resource base of Johns Hopkins’ Armstrong
     Institute for Patient Safety and Quality to improve care
  •  Engaging in complex data analysis to identify opportunities to enhance clinical
     capabilities and improve health outcomes
  •  Leveraging electronic medical record platforms for both organizations
  •  Facilitating collaborations on research and education to expand discovery and bring
     the most relevant knowledge and clinical techniques to the communities served by
     the organizations

“This truly is a unique opportunity for our organization to more closely collaborate with one of the world’s most accomplished and respected health care institutions so we can enhance the scope and capabilities of the services we offer to the western Pennsylvania region,” says Tony Farah, M.D., Allegheny Health Network’s chief medical officer. “It demonstrates clearly to all of our patients and the community that Allegheny Heath Network and Highmark Health are committed to meeting their health care needs and to helping advance the future of medicine both locally and nationally in innovative and meaningful ways.”

“The very same spirit of collaboration in the pursuit of excellence that defines the culture of caring at Allegheny Health Network is what compels us to partner with pioneering institutions like Johns Hopkins to further advance medicine,” says John Paul, Allegheny Health Network president and chief executive officer. “We are excited about the opportunities this new relationship will afford us.”


About Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is a $7 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading academic health care systems in the United States. JHM unites physicians and scientists of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the organizations, health professionals and facilities of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. JHM's vision, “Together, we will deliver the promise of medicine,” is supported by its mission to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care. Diverse and inclusive, JHM educates medical students, scientists, health care professionals and the public; conducts biomedical research; and provides patient-centered medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat human illness. JHM operates six academic and community hospitals, four suburban health care and surgery centers, and 41 Johns Hopkins Community Physicians practices in 35 locations. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in 1889, has been ranked number one in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 22 years of the survey’s 25 year history, most recently in 2013. For more information about Johns Hopkins Medicine, its research, education and clinical programs, and for the latest health, science and research news, visit www.hopkinsmedicine.org.

About Highmark Health

Highmark Health is a diversified health and wellness enterprise based in Pittsburgh that employs 38,000 people and serves 35 million individuals, making it the third largest integrated health care delivery and financing network in the nation. A Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation, Highmark Health is the parent company of Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Inc., which, directly or through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides health insurance, dental insurance, vision care, and other related health products and services to customers. For additional information, visit www.highmarkhealth.org.

About Allegheny Health Network

Allegheny Health Network is an integrated health care delivery system serving the Western Pennsylvania region. The network is comprised of eight hospitals, including Allegheny General Hospital (its flagship academic medical center), Allegheny Valley Hospital, Canonsburg Hospital, Forbes Hospital, Jefferson Hospital, Saint Vincent Hospital, Westfield Memorial Hospital and West Penn Hospital; a research institute; Health + Wellness Pavilions; and a health care group purchasing organization. The network employs approximately 17,000 people, including more than 2,100 physicians on its medical staff. The network also serves as a clinical campus for both Temple University School of Medicine and Drexel University College of Medicine.

For the Media

Contacts:

Dan Laurent, Allegheny Health Network
Office: 412-330-4430
Mobile: 412-807-8103

Lynn Seay, Highmark Health
Office:  412-544-2771
Mobile: 412-298-7206

Jania Matthews
Office: 410-955-5384
Mobile: 615-294-3390