For acutely ill adult patients, does care in the comfort of home deliver the same outcomes as hospital care? That was the essential question of a recent Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) pilot study, the first randomized, controlled clinical trial in the nation to test the impact of home-based hospital care on care quality, safety, and costs.

With the official March 1 launch of Partners HealthCare’s Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO), a host of tools designed to better serve the medical needs of Medicaid patients will now benefit more of our highest risk patients in this population.

​Brigham and Women’s Heather Baer, ScD, is the principal investigator of a study looking at three strategies for weight management in the primary care setting. Dr. Baer is just one of the hundreds of investigators at Partners HealthCare working to address a health care challenge through clinical research.

As CEO of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Michael R. Jaff, D.O., is adding to the expansive list of assets that have long made the medical center a best-kept secret in the community he calls home.

For patients with end-stage renal disease—advanced chronic kidney disease that necessitates dialysis for survival—complications and hospitalization present a persistent threat. Often faced with comorbidities such as diabetes or vascular disease, patients require treatment from a patchwork of providers—which can result in fragmented, redundant care.

On a given day, most of Massachusetts General Hospital's 1,000 beds are typically spoken for. During this high-volume flu season in the Commonwealth, however, a single empty bed can be impossible to find. The influx of flu patients, combined with a Hurricane Maria-induced IV bag shortage, has forced many area hospitals to think creatively.

​Among spinal surgeries, fusion procedures for lumbar spine disorders are exceedingly common—and costly. Though these procedures typically comprise a common framework—minimize pressure on the nerves, stabilize the spine, introduce any necessary implants for stabilization—substantial variety can be found in surgical approaches and surrounding care.

Partners HealthCare is committed to strengthening patient care throughout the region. With intent to enter into a definitive agreement with Care New England Health System (CNE) announced this morning, we will outline details and plans to welcome several locations across Rhode Island into the Partners network​.

Twice each month, a group of Partners HealthCare primary care doctors, nurse practitioners, behavioral health support specialists, social workers, addiction specialists, and other providers gather virtually. On the agenda: how best to assess, treat, and triage patients in primary care settings with substance use disorders.

​What does one’s method of transportation to and from work have to do with their health? Quite a bit, according to a growing body of evidence showing that social and economic factors—such as education, food security, housing, and income, and the environment—along with health behaviors can account for a full 80 percent of a person’s health outcomes.

Collaboration is the essence of Partners HealthCare’s mission. Across our hospitals and 6,000 physicians, efforts are underway—every day—to enhance quality for our patients through interdisciplinary partnerships that uncover new insights and strengthen our standards of care.

On December 8, the Partners HealthCare Integrated Care Management Program (iCMP) had a lot to celebrate. This year’s annual iCMP All Team Gathering commemorated the program’s 5-year-anniversary by highlighting achievements of staff members and looking forward toward expansions and project goals.

Here on Connect with Partners, we strive to share compelling stories from Partners HealthCare and the local and national health care industries with our readers. Our blog posts cover innovative patient care, pioneering research, legislation discussions, and other important health care issues currently affecting our communities.

While a joyful time for many, the holiday season is often regarded as a challenging time of year for those struggling with mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, or exacerbating feelings of isolation. Across the Partners HealthCare System, we’re working hard to ensure that our patients receive comprehensive mental health care every day.

The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary sees approximately 300,000 patients each year—and has seen its share of challenges in the 193 years since its founding. But after years of financial challenges, the specialty hospital needs the support of an integrated care system to continue its work.

In fiscal year 2017 Brigham and Women's Hospital embarked on a $150 million cost-cutting initiative. This is just one slice of Partners HealthCare's overall forward-looking effort to reduce our operating budget by $500 million.

Partners will participate in an initiative to improve care and reduce costs for Massachusetts' Medicaid program. In March 2018, Partners will launch Partners HealthCare Choice as part of the new MassHealth Accountable Care Organization program, which aims to shift provider reimbursements from a fee-for-service model to an accountable care model.

Substance use disorders (SUDs), including alcohol and opioid use disorders, are highly prevalent in our New England communities. To address this, Partners has developed a network of clinical and non-clinical support services to meet the complex needs of patients with SUDs.

Today, Kate Walsh, president and CEO of Boston Medical Center, and our own Dr. David Torchiana, delivered a full-throated editorial in support of the Boston health care community’s commitment to fighting the clear and growing threat of climate change.

As the state seeks to overhaul its Medicaid program, MassHealth, with the most ambitious redesign in more than 20 years, it has chosen no less than 18 provider groups to help launch the effort in January 2018, including Partners HealthCare.

When the goal of treatment is to improve the health of the patient, discussions and plans around end of life can sometimes seem counterintuitive. But death is just as much a part of the medical sphere as life-saving treatments. A growing group of Partners clinicians are urging their colleagues to be more open and comfortable with the topic of dying

We believe artificial intelligence (AI) will be an inevitable part of health care in the future, and this week we’ve taken steps to partner with our new Boston neighbor, GE Healthcare, to ensure that we remain at the forefront of discovery and innovation in this space.

This past month, the city of Newton and Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) revealed plans to collaborate on a new public-private partnership called the Substance Abuse Disorders Service team that will work within the hospital and the community to fight the growing opioid epidemic.

To mitigate delays and connect patients more quickly with quality specialist care, Partners’ physicians now have access to a Partners program called eConsults.

For the past several years​, Partners HealthCare has participated in the U.S. government’s Pioneer Accountable Care Organization​​​ (ACO). By participating in an ACO, we’re required to share in the financial risk associated with our patients’ medical spending and think about alternative ways to get patients the care that they need.

In our Partners HealthCare Annual Report, out now, the “Better Together” ethos is present on every page. Give it a read today and see for yourself the depth of our commitment to better outcomes for our patients and the communities in which we serve.

The Care New England Health System of Providence, Rhode Island (CNE) has announced its intent to join Partners HealthCare. Pending regulatory approval, the decision would mark a culmination of a collaborative cardiovascular and surgical relationship that began at Brigham and Women’s Hospital back in 2009.

Given the breadth and depth of our research programs, meeting patient enrollment targets continues to be a challenge for many clinical research studies across Partners HealthCare.

Today, Partners HealthCare is comprised of 11 hospitals and more than 6,000 physicians. By working together, our network of medical experts has created a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts when it comes to patient care.

For the first time ever, a New Hampshire hospital, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, is now part of the Mass General Hospital (MGH) family and a member of the Partners HealthCare sytem.

One year ago, the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center (SJPHC) received a 2-year Partnership for Community Health Excellence and Innovation grant that helped create two new, critical roles: a medical social worker and a health coach.

Our most popular Connect with Partners post from 2016 was actually a package of three articles that we called “Partners HealthCare Facts.” In this series, we focused on the following three stories, each of which gave a glimpse into the Partners network and its role within the larger health care landscape. The People Who Are Par...

Thanks to a competitive grant from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, a new program is taking shape at the Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) that could have a profound impact on one of our community’s most underserved populations: patients suffering from debilitating mental health and substance abuse issues.

The Vineyard Hospital Center for Pain Management (CPM) is well on its way to setting the standard for how telemedicine can help patients in remote areas successfully manage their pain--often without the use of habit-forming narcotics.

Five percent of patients account for half of health care spending and patients with multiple chronic conditions cost up to seven times more than those with only one.

At Partners HealthCare, we’ve made enhanced treatment and prevention options a priority for the communities we serve. We also recognize this growing issue requires resources from everyone, including political leadership, law enforcement, and other health care organizations.

Population health management, it’s a term you hear often, but what is PHM actually trying to do? Thousands of people across Partners are working together to achieve these five goals.

In the ongoing conversation about health care costs a frequently asked question is “why do some hospitals charge more than others for the same services?” The truth is, no two hospitals or health systems are quite the same. In this post are some of the reasons that care at Partner's hospitals costs more.

After he was ejected from a car in an accident last summer, Anthony Hodges was rushed to Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Neurosurgeon Dr. Yi Lu performed emergency surgery to try to prevent paralysis, but he still feared Hodges might never walk again. However, Hodges, recently named captain of the Salem State basketball team, ...

At Partners HealthCare, we’ve made it a priority to integrate behavioral health care into our primary care practices, particularly through population health management programs. In this post, Dr. Brent Forester, who heads up these efforts, explains the important role of screening primary care patients for mental health condition...

At Partners HealthCare, we’re committed to providing better care, close to home for all of the communities we serve. That’s why we’re announcing a plan to improve care and coordination with North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) by serving the needs of the region more efficiently and significantly improving access to behavioral healt...

It was late spring of this year when Shirley Hutchins's chronic breathing problems suddenly got worse. She had been diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the lungs, and pulmonary fibrosis, a kind of scarring on her lung tissue. But even after using oxygen on a part-time basis for nearly a year, she co...

More than 60 million Americans live with mental illness each year, yet social stigma and a lack of treatment facilities can make it difficult for them to get the care they need. “While over the past two decades, the public’s awareness of mental illnesses and the effectiveness of treatment have significantly reduced the stigma, ...

http://youtu.be/-H-Xw3AQFO4 Partners HealthCare president and CEO Dr. Gary Gottlieb appeared on WGBH’s “Greater Boston” last night to discuss our proposed partnerships with South Shore Hospital, Hallmark Health and Harbor Medical Associates. “Our vision is really about our patients -- getting them care where they live,” Dr. Gott...

There has been a lot of conversation over the past few weeks about the agreement we reached with the Massachusetts Attorney General to acquire South Shore Hospital, Hallmark Health and Harbor Medical Associates. While a few of our competitors claim that these new affiliations would give Partners HealthCare too great a share in t...

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed an agreement in Suffolk Superior Court that would allow us to move forward on partnerships with South Shore Hospital, Hallmark Health and Harbor Medical Associates. Our vision offers substantive benefits for patients in these communities. At Partners HealthCare, we want to ...

At Partners HealthCare, we’re working to bring high-quality, affordable health care closer to the communities we serve. A recent agreement in principle that we reached with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office marked a significant step forward in achieving that goal. The agreement allows us to move forward with new partne...

After reaching an agreement in principle with the Massachusetts Attorney General earlier this week, multiple news organizations have expressed, in their editorials, support for the proposed new partnerships with South Shore Hospital, Hallmark Health and Harbor Medical Associates as they will allow us to bring high-quality care c...

We’re pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement in principle with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office that will allow Partners HealthCare to move ahead with partnerships with South Shore Hospital, Harbor Medical Associates and Hallmark Health System. These affiliations support our mission to offer the highest...

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital patient Marc Fucarile and Dr. David Crandell On April 15, 2013, Dr. David King finished running the Boston Marathon – and then rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital to operate on 15 people over the following 30 hours. The trauma surgeon’s story is just one of many others like it: doctors and ...

Dr. Nadaa Ali and patient Normie Allen In the fall of 2012, Normie Allen of Roxbury wasn’t doing well. She was nearly 70 years old, and it seemed as though a combination of chronic ailments was going to overwhelm her. First, there were her main conditions: diabetes and congestive heart failure. On top of that, she suffered from ...

http://vimeo.com/88760184 Our population health management initiatives promote better coordinated, more accessible patient care while also helping to control costs over the long-term. Earlier this month, Partners Vice President of Population Health Management Dr. Timothy Ferris discussed our approach with Dr. Rebecca Rosen, seni...