Dignity Health Medical Foundation today announced that Mercy Medical Group is one of just 28 physician organizations statewide to receive the 2019 Excellence in Healthcare Award from the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA). This honor recognizes physician organizations that perform in the top 50 percent in three major areas: clinical quality, patient experience, and total cost of care.

Of the nearly 200 physician organizations statewide participating in the Align. Measure. Perform. Program. fewer than one in five attained Excellence in Healthcare Award performance standards for 2019, based on AMP results for measurement year 2018.

“Mercy Medical Group is dedicated to providing the highest quality compassionate care at the lowest cost,” said Antonio “Ben” Balatbat, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Mercy Medical Group. “Receiving this Excellence in Healthcare Award is a result of the patient-centered team-based care we have been developing over the past few years and it represents the collective effort from our entire care team to put our patients at the center of everything we do. We are honored to earn top marks from the IHA and to be recognized for the care we’re providing our patients.”

The Excellence in Healthcare Award is a key component of IHA’s statewide AMP program, which uses a fair and transparent approach to measurement, and focuses on creating comprehensive benchmarks and a reliable assessment of performance for medical groups, independent practice association, and accountable care organizations across health plans in California.

“Congratulations to the entire clinic team at Mercy Medical Group for earning this great distinction,” said Mark Behl, MHA, MBA, CEO of Dignity Health Medical Foundation. “This award is a direct testament to their work to deliver high quality coordinated care in a way that improves the health of our patients and also ultimately reduces the total cost of care for those we serve.”

IHA President and CEO Jeff Rideout, MD, commended the top performers, saying, “IHA is proud to recognize these physician organizations that are truly leading the way to high-quality, affordable, patient-centered care.”

Dr. John Gisla, Medical Director of Quality and Value Operations, Mercy Medical Group and Ranae Forbes, Director of Clinical Program Support, Dignity Health Medical Foundation, accepted the Excellence in Healthcare Award on behalf of Mercy Medical Group at IHA’s Annual Stakeholder Meeting.

####