RamaOnHealthcare May 30, 2025
Integrated care = a thriving healthcare system
Today, RamaOnHealthcare talks with Jerry Penso.
Jerry Penso, MD, MBA, President and CEO of AMGA
RamaOnHealthcare (ROH): Can integrated care really work for physicians?
Jerry Penso (JP): Yes, it can, and AMGA is pivoting to ensure that integrated care models can enable physicians to deliver the best patient outcomes, care experience, and operational efficiencies, as well as promote provider and caregiver wellness.
The care delivery model is clearly changing, as 55% of physicians are hospital-employed as of Jan. 2024. At AMGA, we see this trend reflected in our membership—health systems now constitute 75% of our members, a dramatic change from five years ago. Considering this shift, integrated care is vital to an organization’s success and benefits physicians as well. To drive efficiency and improve outcomes, the physician enterprise and health system must forge a strong connection. For providers, working within a team-based, patient-centered system often reduces burnout and enhances job fulfillment. For the health system, an aligned physician enterprise can support strategic goals. So yes, it can work, and we’ve seen how integrated care models have improved the clinical and operational performance of AMGA members.
…we’ve seen how integrated care models have improved the clinical and operational performance of AMGA members.
ROH: What exactly do you mean by “integration?”
JP: Integration means that the different components of healthcare delivery, including hospitals and physician entities (and perhaps health plan, home health, pharmacies, and more), are working together to make the care experience more seamless for patients, more efficient for providers, with higher quality of care and less costs.
What this means in real terms: Better communication, frictionless data exchange, appropriate site of service, reducing variation in care delivery, managing transitions of care, improving workforce wellbeing, better use of APPs and support staff, increased productivity, leveraging AI and other technology across the continuum of care, and many other benefits.
ROH: Your new health system/integrated care focus was informed by interviews with healthcare leaders and a newly created Health System Advisory Board. What key trends have you heard from those discussions?
JP: We’ve all read about healthcare’s challenges, and AMGA has heard what our members are saying: the biggest challenges are workforce, financials, physician wellness, governance and leadership, and integrating new tech (right now AI).
But here’s the important piece: There is a growing need to address the intersection between the hospital and physician enterprise. Back to that earlier statistic, health systems are buying groups, but many struggle to maximize the value from this substantial investment. Even high-performing systems face challenges inherent in this intersection, including streamlining throughput, care transitions, system-wide alignment, change management, fiscal resilience, access, and workforce.
There is a growing need to address the intersection between the hospital and physician enterprise.
ROH: How is the relationship between the physician enterprise and the health system evolving?
JP: Physician enterprises are often seen as cost centers, and there’s a growing push for these groups to demonstrate financial sustainability while also improving quality metrics. Meanwhile, systems need to be certain their physician enterprises perform at the “right” level of “investment per” for their complement of physicians and APPs, payor-mix, locations, etc. So, you can see, communication, collaboration, and the right metrics are key to the relationship.
ROH: How do you think the physician enterprise should be viewed?
JP: The physician enterprise or medical group is a cornerstone in a system’s continuum of care strategy. It is best situated to capitalize on patient relationships as the means to drive value-based care. Our ability as an industry to shift our care delivery model from sick care to healthcare is dependent on a robust medical group that is seen as nimble, innovative, productive, and efficient. In this sense, medical groups are the key infrastructure and effector that can lead to improvements in cost and quality.
…medical groups are the key infrastructure and effector that can lead to improvements in cost and quality.
ROH: How can AMGA help?
JP: Our goal is to build connections within and among physician enterprises and health systems to drive efficiency and improve outcomes. We provide insights on organizational excellence in governance, workforce, operations and financial health, and best practices in integrated care delivery, whether that platform is online or in person. Integrated care is at the center of our vision – a thriving healthcare system that delivers the best care. And we’re delivering that message to lawmakers and regulatory bodies on a daily basis.
Integrated care is at the center of our vision….
About Dr. Penso
Dr. Penso previously served as Chief Medical and Quality Officer for AMGA and President of AMGA Foundation. Under his leadership, the impact of AMGA’s quality programs grew to improve care for 26 million patients. Prior to joining AMGA, Dr. Penso served as Medical Director, Continuum of Care for Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group (SRSMG), the largest integrated healthcare delivery system in San Diego. Dr. Penso received his Master’s in Business Administration from San Diego State University and his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.