Summit Medical Group and Summit Strategic Solutions Partner With athenahealth to Advance Population Health

athenahealth, Inc.

, a leading provider of cloud-based services and mobile applications for medical groups and health systems, and Summit Medical Group, PLLC (SMG), East Tennessee's leading primary care organization, today announced that SMG has selected athenahealth's cloud-based population health service, athenaCommunicator Enterprise, to enhance care coordination and advance its population health management initiatives. athenahealth's services will be provided by Summit Strategic Solutions, LLC (SSS), a Management Service Organization. Summit Medical Group logo Summit Strategic Solutions logo Based in Knoxville, SMG includes 220 providers who work with SSS to coordinate care for one of East Tennessee's largest at-risk patient populations. Based on its performance implementing value-based care strategies and participating in Medicare Advantage plan contracts, SSS is identified as a national leader in population health. As part of both organizations' commitment to population health excellence and advancement, SMG will work with SSS to incorporate athenaCommunicator Enterprise's patient engagement, analytics, and care management capabilities within its quality-based workflow. athenaCommunicator Enterprise improves insight into populations, streamlines patient communication, and coordinates care across settings to reduce utilization and cost while meeting quality targets. "Summit Strategic Solutions believes that athenahealth's cloud-based services will enhance care coordination services for our client, Summit Medical Group", said Tim Young, Chief Executive Officer of Summit Strategic Solutions. "We remain committed to supporting the free exchange of health information, recognizing that it is critical to sustainable, cost-conscious and effective care." "Summit Strategic Solutions will use athenahealth to identify gaps in care, continue to meet national quality metrics, and build value for Summit Medical Group's patients," continued Young. "We are confident our partnership with athenahealth will help us continue to maintain our national quality scores and proven record in risk management." "With as much as 90 percent of all CMS reimbursements being tied to quality by 2018, the transition to value-based care must gain pace," said Jonathan Bush, CEO of athenahealth. "Summit Strategic Solutions and its client, Summit Medical Group, offer a model for others to follow. SSS and SMG have proven themselves to be ahead of the transition by rigorously committing to quality under a variety of reimbursement models and now, by embracing supporting technology and services to improve financial and clinical results. We are thrilled to work with a national leader in population health and to take part in creating a leading model that supports and engages providers and patients in a value-based environment."