Cleveland Clinic Welcomes Boston Children’s to Its Cardiovascular Specialty Network

Boston Children’s Hospital has joined Cleveland Clinic’s national Cardiovascular Specialty Network as a joint provider for complex pediatric heart services. The Cleveland Clinic-led network is the first national-scale network of selected high-value cardiovascular care providers for the purpose of contracting with employers and payers.

The collaboration brings together two highly renowned clinical programs:

• Cleveland Clinic’s cardiology and heart surgery program, rated the nation’s No. 1 program in this category for each of the past 23 years in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” rankings
• Boston Children’s, rated the top children’s hospital in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” honor roll for 2017-18, with the No. 2 pediatric cardiology and heart surgery program in the same report

“Teamwork in many forms is the next phase of American medicine,” says Hani Najm, MD, Chair of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery at Cleveland Clinic. “We’re finding new ways to combine our individual strengths for better patient care and higher value.”

As part of the collaboration, Boston Children’s has been given special status in the network, including:

• Participation in leadership of the pediatric program along with Cleveland Clinic
• Sharing in the establishment and management of best practices related to patient care, outcome measurement, quality reporting and clinical research for cardiovascular care in children

Stronger together

“Together, our goal to develop and provide consistently high-quality outcomes will drive ongoing improvement and spur innovations for the benefit of patients and families,” says Boston Children’s Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Pedro J. del Nido, MD, of the agreement. “The collaboration between our organizations offers access to high-quality, cost-effective care to employers’ families who need the most complex heart care.”

“Boston Children’s is well-known for its commitment to providing high-quality patient outcomes, as are we,” adds Lars Svensson, MD, PhD, Chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute. “This agreement brings together two great institutions dedicated to improving pediatric cardiac surgery care. With this relationship, we look forward to offering more families access to world-class, complex care and to collaborating with the Boston Children’s team in order to continue to improve and innovate.”

“The Cardiovascular Specialty Network programs offer patients and families immediate access to best-quality heart care not only for catheter and surgical procedures, but also for diagnosis,” notes Tess (Elizabeth) Saarel, MD, the Ross Family Endowed Chair for Pediatric Cardiology at Cleveland Clinic. “One of the important benefits we’ve seen in children referred to the network has been the avoidance of unnecessary surgeries and procedures. We’re excited to partner with Boston Children’s heart team, which shares our commitment to the best care for children.”

Expanded collaboration likely to come

The two organizations intend to eventually expand the services offered beyond the heart to include other complex and rare pediatric care that justifies patient travel for the value that can be delivered. Such plans are consistent with Cleveland Clinic’s leadership in the development of a national network that offers curated providers and services directly to national employers and payers — a strategy that aligns with Boston Children’s vision for healthcare value.

“During this time of increasing demand for value in the healthcare marketplace, teaming up with another renowned institution such as Cleveland Clinic provides a way for more patients from across the nation to access world-class specialized care,” says pediatric surgeon Steven J. Fishman, MD, President of Physician Organization and Senior Vice President of Access and Business Services at Boston Children’s. “This agreement offers high-quality healthcare while managing costs.”

For more about Cleveland Clinic’s Cardiovascular Specialty Network and related cardiovascular advisory services, click here.