Dear Colleagues:

The past year has been one of pivotal importance for the Brigham and Women’s Physician Organization. Over the course of the last 12 months, we have welcomed new departments to the BWPO and have worked increasingly hard on issues that have a direct impact on our physician members.

Our collective success, which includes improved payer reimbursement and personal benefits, points the direction for the future. As we have worked to manage longstanding financial issues related to bad debt and accounts receivable, we have enhanced the financial outlook for the organization. The months ahead will challenge us again as we embark on new negotiations with insurance providers such as Tufts Health Plan. We will be enabled in these negotiations by the single voice of a solid and unified physician organization.

Our patient care mission is thriving. You can feel it and see it on the Pike, in our operating rooms, in our clinics and throughout our enterprise. We have moved forward with an aggressive improvement agenda that emphasizes the necessary balance between work and home and sought to cultivate an environment that addresses the needs of both our caregivers and our patients. We are striving to recognize our outstanding clinicians for their clinical contributions.

We have the opportunity to build on a great tradition of care at BWH. We are well positioned to compete with the most elite health care providers in the nation and the world. Thank you for your continued efforts. Together we can create a truly remarkable institution to receive and provide care.

Sincerely,

Lawrence H. Cohn, MD
Chairman, BWPO