| Dear Center City Pediatrics Family and Friends, |
| Our 10 year birthday is fast approaching! As we reflect upon our first decade, we are amazed and humbled by our growth, which has been driven by the Philadelphia urban “baby boom”. In the face of this growth, and as a result of the changing medical landscape, we are forced to make some tough decisions. September 29th is the last day we will see newborns while they are in Pennsylvania Hospital. All babies at Pennsylvania Hospital will be examined instead by the hospital-based newborn team, as occurs at other hospitals. |
| Since its inception, Center City Pediatrics has striven to be a high quality, community-based pediatric practice. As such, we have used the concept of “Medical Home,” outlined by the National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA), to guide us. Maintaining status as a top-notch Medical Home requires equal attention, not only to quality, but also to accessibility for all of our patients. Focusing on quality involves ongoing efforts to maintain the highest standards of evidence based medical care, while maximizing time spent with each patient and family. Focusing on accessibility entails providing timely appointments with preferred primary care providers and plentiful availability of sick visits, all at convenient hours. These two concepts can often be at odds, and striking an appropriate balance between them is critical to our “Medical Home” mission. This tension between quality and accessibility is particularly acute as our government debates the future of healthcare finance. We must track how the various insurance companies, including government backed insurance programs, reimburse us for our services. As a community practice, we endeavor to accept all insurances, so that our entire “community” can have access to us. We hope that any changes in healthcare finance will not interfere with this mission. |
| In the meantime, we have decided that it is no longer possible for us to round at Pennsylvania Hospital. This is particularly sad for us because we have all felt honored to be among the few that see you and your baby shortly after birth. This decision is consistent with the current medical trend of separating in-patient and out-patient medical care. It is a trend that is influenced by reimbursement issues and the needs of hospitalized patients. We sincerely hope that this decision will allow us to improve accessibility and spend more time with you and your children in our office. |
| We will want to see you and your babies as soon as you are discharged from the hospital. I know that your babies will forgive us for not rounding on them. We hope that you will see this change as a demonstration of our ongoing commitment to improving accessibility and maintaining quality in this challenging climate for primary care in America. |
| In Health,
Eric Berger, MD |
33 Rock Hill Rd
1740 South Street
2365 East York Street