FutureCare IPA's Mission
Our Mission is to help our physicians and facilities to provide the best possible experience for all of our patients. We accomplish this by striving to be a model healthcare organization. We continue to learn and in turn we refine our healthcare to be at the pinnacle of healthcare.
We work with our physicians to coordinate care made throughout the whole procedure of referrals made to other specialists. We attempt to raise efficiency and ease of care through each step made so that we can guarantee superior health care to our patients.
FutureCare IPA's Goals
Clinical Excellence
We will deliver the best clinical care in a consistent, integrated way.
Patient Experience
We will provide a compassionate healing experience, and we will engage patients in decisions about their own health care.
Operational Effectiveness
We will be wise and careful stewards of our resources to enable extraordinary care.
Physician Engagement
We will create systems and processes that help our physicians best serve their patients.
Caring For All
We are committed to serving the diverse needs of all our patients.
Staff Support
We value our employees as our most important resource and valuable asset.
What is an IPA?
IPA or Independent Physicians Association consists of a panel of physicians who contract with health plans and hospitals to provide complete care to members of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO). All HMO members must first select a Primary Care Physician (PCP), who belongs to an IPA or medical group. IPA doctors and their staff then coordinate a comprehensive health care delivery system among the medical providers within the network. Anyone with HMO insurance can join an IPA.
The advantages of an IPA are the functions it performs for medical practices. Using an administrative staff of its own, the IPA organizes the delivery of care. It negotiates contracts with insurance companies; assembles, credentials, and inspects member physicians. It also helps institutions in constructing authorizations and the referral processes; establishes primary care provider and specialist responsibilities; disburses payment to physicians; conducts utilization review and quality assurance; and ensures the fiscal integrity of the IPA itself.
Although they are highly variable in sophistication, IPA’s are usually capable of assuming greater degrees of financial risks than individual physicians. They offer their members the advantage of strong physician leadership with the drive to develop progressively more mature organizations. IPA’s wield far greater bargaining power than individual physicians or “networks,” and they are usually able to undertake administrative functions that reduce health care costs.