July 2008

The following are highlights from this month's edition of SMCS Physician (view entire newsletter here):

A Message from Tom Gagen, CEO

In order to thrive in the current health care environment, Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento needs to reach out to referring physicians outside of the Sacramento Sierra Region. We offer tertiary and quaternary services that are not available in their local communities, and our service lines offer quality, top-notch programs for the patients and physicians.

Sutter Specialty Network, known simply as SSN, is a team of dedicated individuals who educate physicians from outlying areas about the highly specialized services available within Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region and coordinate the referral process allowing for a single point of contact for all parties.

Penny Nichols, regional director of sales and growth, oversees SSN and explains that the team’s goal is to increase the volume of commercially insured cases at Sutter hospitals and serve the patients who need specialized services that are not available in their own communities. “We are not there to take business away from the surrounding markets,” Nichols says. “Rather, we are there to provide access to services they can’t accommodate locally.”

Reorganized into its current structure in August 2007, the department covers a vast territory. Of the six team members, the three client services managers split up the area, which is as far north as southern Oregon, east as far as Reno and Lake Tahoe, south as far as Kings County, and midway to the Bay Area. SSN’s territory does not include Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties, which are handled by Sutter’s in-market physician liaisons.

SSN is a regional department and evenly distributes cases to contracted specialists throughout the Sacramento Sierra Region based on insurance, availability, etc. In the year that Nichols has been at the helm, she and her team have made great strides in enhancing and streamlining service, including becoming fully staffed, working with emergency departments in outlying areas to increase the number of patient transfers; developing standardized 360-degree communication between the patient, referring physician and Sutter specialist, etc.

These efforts have not gone unnoticed. Andrew Brasch, M.D., a neurologist in Paradise, Calif., has worked with SSN for two years and credits them for connecting him with the great team of Sutter neuroscience specialists. “I get the best second opinions and complicated management assistance in Northern California from Sutter, and SSN helps with that,” he says.

Samuel Ciricillo, M.D., medical director of Sutter Neuroscience Institute, believes that SSN is a vital link in the referral process. “SSN becomes our arms and legs,” he says. “They have the manpower and resources to get out to the surrounding communities and get referrals into centers like ours.”

Dr. Ciricillo says all of the team members are incredibly approachable and each possesses a good understanding of Sutter’s specialty programs. Their ability to set up important face-to-face meetings with doctors from outlying areas and the team’s consistent presence is another big plus.

“Their constant availability shows to us their level of commitment,” he says. “I think SSN is an untapped, unappreciated resource. For any program that wants to grow, they need to be connected with SSN.”

For more information about SSN, call 888-834-1788, visit www.checksutterfirst.org/ssn or e-mail ssn@sutterhealth.org.