In today’s rapidly evolving health care landscape, collaboration isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential. For physicians and health system leaders, joining the AMA Integrated Physician Practice Section (AMA-IPPS) offers an opportunity to shape the future of medicine.
As the challenges facing health care grow increasingly complex, AMA-IPPS provides a vital platform for members of integrated health models—which are devoted to delivering a seamless patient care experience—to unite around shared goals: improving patient outcomes, supporting physician well-being and driving innovation across care delivery. By working together, physicians and health leaders can amplify their impact, advocate more effectively, and build a stronger, more sustainable health care ecosystem for all.
Bryan Batson, MD, knows firsthand the value of the AMA-IPPS. He is CEO of the independent, physician-led and -governed Hattiesburg Clinic, in Mississippi, and holds the small/medium group slotted seat for the section’s governing council.
“The AMA has been a longstanding voice for physicians around the United States and continues to be a driving force in advocacy efforts for physicians and for better health care for our patients around the country,” Dr. Batson said.
Hattiesburg Clinic is a member of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
Having a seat at the table
“As Hattiesburg Clinic grew, we recognized that evolving as an organization was going to be important as we planned for the future,” said Dr. Batson. “For us, a big part of that was value-based health care delivery. When we looked around the country and our area, we felt that we needed to be at the table, listening and learning from other organizations around the nation who were also focusing on this evolution—this transition from fee for service to value-based care delivery.”
“For us, IPPS was a great opportunity to interface with people who were tackling these same questions and challenges and approaching health care in a more integrated fashion than what we’d previously seen in our history,” said Dr. Batson. “We’re 62 years old as an organization and have gone through several pivot-points as we’ve grown.”
As we looked toward a future of better health care and better health care delivery, we saw IPPS as a way to learn from others and share our successes and struggles as we were approaching this new landscape,” he added.
The standard of care in physician well-being recognition
Institutions in this article have been honored by the Joy in Medicine™ Health System Recognition Program.
Fostering the physician voice
“As a physician leader, I’m especially interested in physician leadership and developing programs and organizations that foster physician voices, and I think the AMA and IPPS both have excellent examples of that,” Dr. Batson said. “At Hattiesburg Clinic, we are unique in the IPPS in that we are independent, but we are very much engaged in integrated health care delivery and partnerships that foster better outcomes.”
“All those things are really important for improved health care delivery throughout the country,” he said.
Addressing physician well-being
AMA-IPPS also works to boost physician well-being through sharing best practices and highlighting the ongoing needs of physicians.
“Physician well-being is an important factor in our success and delivering better health care,” Dr. Batson said, noting that “focusing on physician well-being is crucial as we’re making some of these transitions into new delivery models such as value-based care.”
This is “essential to keeping physicians at the forefront of health care and ensuring their voices shape decision-making, governance and policy, and creates a system of care that is best for patients,” he said.
Combining health system expertise
AMA-IPPS is also well suited to weigh in on a variety of health care topics and how they pertain to physicians and their organizations.
For example, one focus area has been augmented intelligence (AI) “and because we bring such a wide variety of experiences to the AMA and to our health care institutions around the country … IPPS members are uniquely positioned to offer insights on a variety of topics,” Dr. Batson said. “As AI received increasing attention, and it was emerging as a promising addition to the tools that we have in health care … many of our organizations had already developed experience with risk-scoring, predictive models, reporting tools and business intelligence over the last several years.”
“Bringing that experience to the table as we look to the next advancements in technology—and how to use them in a responsible, thoughtful, but balanced approach—is key to our work in IPPS,” he said, emphasizing that “IPPS offers input on how to use this new tech in a responsible way.”
Working together as a group
AMA-IPPS is “a great network of physicians and physician leaders from around the country who are focused on innovative, integrated ways of improving health care delivery,” Dr. Batson said. “None of us has all the answers, but usually when we are able to contribute collectively, we’re able to come up with better answers when we’re working as a group, and I know Hattiesburg Clinic has certainly benefited greatly from being a part of IPPS.”
By joining the AMA-IPPS, physicians can actively participate in shaping policies that directly affect their practice environments, ensuring that their unique challenges and perspectives are heard at the national level. This section not only provides a collective voice but also fosters collaboration among physician groups, ultimately strengthening the physician-led care model that is vital for delivering high-quality, patient-centered health care.
To stay up to date on AMA-IPPS activities, physicians can sign up for the monthly newsletter.
