| Type | Nonprofit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Healthcare |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Founder(s) | Dr. Russel Van Arsdale Lee |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, USA |
| Website | pamf.org |
The Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Health Care, Research and Education (PAMF) is a not-for-profit health care organization with medical offices in more than 15 cities throughout the Bay Area. PAMF’s roots can be traced back to 1930 when Dr. Russel Van Arsdale Lee founded the Palo Alto Medical Clinic in Palo Alto, California. Today, PAMF is one of California’s top rated medical groups [1] and has more than 900 physicians serving patients in Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties.
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In addition to its Health Care Division, which experienced more than 2 million patient visits in 2008,[3] PAMF consists of an Education Division and Research Institute.
PAMF’s Education Division provides classes, lectures, support groups and consultations on topics ranging from parenting to weight management. The Education Division also manages PAMF’s Community Health Resource Centers located in Dublin, Fremont, Mountain View and Palo Alto.
PAMF’s Research Institute is located in Palo Alto and has more than 30 staff members including scientists, researchers, postdoctoral fellows and staff members. PAMF researchers conduct clinical studies in four departments: Health Services, Clinical Research, Health Policy Research and Cardiovascular Physiology and Biophysics.
A leader in e-health technology, PAMF implemented its electronic health record (EHR) system in 1999. According to a 2008 San Francisco Business Times article,[4] “only 18 percent of hospitals and clinics nationwide have implemented electronic health records. Only about one in four doctors use some form of EHRs.” The EHRs allow medical providers to access patient information without the use of traditional paper medical charts. PAMF doctors and nurses use computers located in each exam room to update the patients’ EHRs; view medical history; order tests and see test results; make referrals; and send electronic prescription requests to pharmacies during an office visit.
PAMF also provides an e-health service called PAMFOnline that allows patients to view their EHRs from their personal computers, request appointments and prescription renewals, and access test results online. In 2008, PAMF used technology to make another significant step in participatory medicine when it launched a "pilot program to promote online communication between diabetic patients and their health care providers."[4]
PAMF's Chief Medical Information Officer Dr. Paul Tang is "considered a leader in health IT"[4] and serves on multiple national committees concerned with advancing the country’s health care system using information technology. Currently, Dr. Tang is the vice-chair of the federal Health Information Technology Policy Committee, and chair of its Meaningful Use Work Group. Established under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the group advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on policies related to health information technology.
PAMF is a multispecialty group practice, which means patients benefit from an expansive roster of doctors with different specialties who share resources and expertise. In addition to best practices, multispecialty groups are able to share facilities, expenses and support staff. According to a 2010 Healthcare Finance News article, "A study published in the May 2010 online issue of Health Affairs finds that large multi-specialty medical groups provide higher quality care at a lower cost compared with physicians in small group practices." [5]
As a multispecialty group practice, PAMF offers both general and specialized medical services including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, allergy and immunology, anesthesiology, anticoagulation clinic, asthma, audiology, aviation medicine, cancer care, cardiology, cosmetic surgery, dermatology, ear, nose and throat, employee health, endocrinology and metabolism, ophthalmology and optometry, plastic surgery, fertility and reproductive endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, gynecologic oncology, hematology, weight management, infectious diseases and immunology, interventional pulmonology, joint replacement, nephrology, nutrition, neurology, neurosurgery, nuclear medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, orthopedics, pediatric specialties, urgent care, physical therapy, podiatry, psychiatry and behavioral health, pulmonary disease and critical care, radiation oncology, rheumatology, robotic surgery, sleep medicine, sports medicine, general surgery, surgical oncology, travel medicine, urgent care, urology, vascular center and weight loss surgery.
PAMF is part of the Sutter Health Peninsula Coastal Region, which also includes Mills Peninsula Health Services, Menlo Park Surgical Hospital and Sutter Maternity and Surgical Center of Santa Cruz. PAMF is governed by the Sutter Health Peninsula Coastal Region Board of Directors and a Community Board of Trustees. Its physicians are led by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Group Board of Directors.
PAMF’s administrative staff includes the following: