FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                

PFHSE Awards $5.6 million for Projects to

Improve Quality of Care Delivered in Physician Practices

(BOSTON) – Physicians' Foundation for Health Systems Excellence (PFHSE) announced today over $5.6 million in grants for its 2006 Excellence in Practice grant program. Selected from over 200 applicants, the 15 grantees will be working on various projects to improve quality of care, patient safety, and physician education. Grants range in size from $100,000 up to $500,000 for up to three years.

Tim Norbeck, Executive Director of PFHSE said today, “Medical practice as we know it is under stress. Physicians are dealing today with many complex issues such as technological innovation, reimbursement changes, and information overload. The foundation's grants work toward helping practicing physicians meet some of these contemporary realities while delivering safe, effective medical care.”

Examples include a project by the New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians to address issues that lead to physician stress and burnout through a project called Mindful Communication: Bringing Intention, Attention, and Reflection to Clinical Practice. This project will teach groups of physicians the techniques of mindfulness and reflection, and measure the impact on physicians' happiness with their work, and on the quality and efficiency of the patient care they provide. And in Nebraska, a project by the Nebraska Medical Foundation will facilitate steps towards adoption of health information technology by physicians to improve patient safety and enhance quality and efficiency within that state's healthcare system. This project will implement statewide outreach and education activities and will collect baseline data for tracking penetration of health information technology in clinical practices.

PFHSE, a grantmaking foundation with assets of $98 million, devotes its resources to helping practicing physicians improve the care they deliver to their patients. The foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations for practice-based, innovative projects that provide physician education or address quality of care or patient safety issues. PFHSE is fueled by funds derived from the 2003 settlement in a class action lawsuit between physicians, 19 state medical societies and Aetna, Inc.