Frequently Asked Questions

A clinically integrated network is designed to drive quality and cost improvements for the patients we serve as we move toward this value-based model. To be a compliant CIN, Collaborative Physician Alliance must produce clear measures of this value improvement at the physician and population level.

Collaborative Physician Alliance is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atrium Health and is managed by its own Board of Managers. The Board of Managers is made up of 16 physicians and equally represented by Atrium Health employed and Independent physicians.

Collaborative Physician Alliance officially formed on February 8, 2016 as a CIN. Carolinas Physician Alliance’s first contract is effective January 2017.

There are currently more than 2,900 participants.

Collaborative Physician Alliance is designed for groups to join. Small and solo groups are welcomed. Physicians who practice outside of Carolinas Physician Alliance’s current 19-county coverage area would not be included.

There is no enrollment fee to join Collaborative Physician Alliance.

Collaborative Physician Alliance has opportunities for physicians to get involved through multidisciplinary workgroups. These workgroups will create pathways and protocols for priority diagnoses and related clinical improvement efforts. Workgroups will include affiliate and system care team members who may be involved in the care of a patient across a particular condition. Collaborative Physician Alliance will continually seek diverse leadership from across the physicians participating in the alliance.

To ensure the best value for patients and payers, Collaborative Physician Alliance is open to physicians who want to be accountable and raise the quality of care within the current 19-county operating area.

Yes, you can join. Collaborative Physician Alliance does not have an exclusivity clause in the Network Participation Agreement and understands that groups may join other CINs in addition to Carolinas Physician Alliance.

By enhancing transitions of care, coordinating chronic disease management, and managing population health, Collaborative Physician Alliance benefits patients, payers, employers and physicians alike.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an ACO is accountable specifically for Medicare beneficiaries. It is an organization of healthcare providers that agrees to be accountable for the quality, cost and overall care of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the traditional fee-for-service program who are assigned to the ACO.

Similarly, a Clinically Integrated Network is an alignment model, coordinating care across affiliated caregivers and developing contracts to improve quality while controlling growth in total cost of care. However, a Clinically Integrated Network contracts with commercial payers and employers rather than the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

No. Collaborative Physician Alliance recognizes the amount of infrastructure work and expense necessary to support an EHR or a migration to a different EHR system. Work is underway to develop the infrastructure that Carolinas Physician Alliance will need to share data across the Alliance. There will be some amount of work and infrastructure expense required for participation in the network related to the ability to exchange patient information across a variety of EHR systems to improve communication.

A provider may be removed from Collaborative Physician Alliance for performance issues or inability to meet minimum quality outcomes. Such action would occur within specific, transparent guidelines and only after failed efforts to remediate or counsel provider’s methods to improve citizenship and elevate guidelines. Collaborative Physician Alliance respects the individual governance of its physician groups. Any further corrective action beyond removal from Collaborative Physician Alliance would be at the discretion of the practice group.

If you or your group would like more information or interested in joining Collaborative Physician Alliance, please email Cara Pearsall at Cara.Pearsall@carolinasphysicianalliance.org.