[ back ]
Spotlight - HVMA: what's in a name?
Have you ever walked by the HVMA sign on your way into Children's Hospital Boston and wondered what it is? Here's a primer on Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates.
Is HVMA an insurance company?
No. HVMA is actually a large multi-specialty, not-for-profit medical group practice with 17 office locations in Eastern Massachusetts, including the one at Children's. It has approximately 90 pediatricians, almost all of whom are on staff at CHB. HVMA is also a major teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.A rose by any other name?
In 1998, HVMA spun off from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC), and today accepts most major insurers in Eastern Massachusetts.
What does HVMA do?
It provides primary care to approximately 75,000 children in greater Boston. HVMA physicians are deeply committed to tracking quality, and place a strong emphasis on prevention, early detection of disease, effective management of chronic illness and involving patients in decision-making about their health care.What does HVMA do at Children's?
John Graef, MD, and Herbert Boerstling, MD, are the two HVMA physicians on-site at CHB full-time. They are hospitalists, which are physicians who specialize in the care of hospitalized patients. They, along with HVMA case management nurses, manage the care of HVMA patients when they're inpatients, unless they're admitted to a specialty service. The HVMA staff co-manage these patients with the Children's specialty attending physician. HVMA was the first pediatric hospitalist service at CHB. A study done here showed that a dedicated hospitalist service provides high quality health care with a greater efficiency of resources, and results in decreased length of stay and less duplication. As a result, CHB now offers its own hospitalist service for non-HVMA patients.
