You are participating in the largest physician organization in Northeast Ohio, comprised of over 3,900 physicians and 10 hospitals. There are several benefits in belonging to the Cleveland Clinic Community Physician Partnership:

•	Access to a large number of payor contracts
•	Administrative convenience for payors and providers through a messenger model contracting system that allows both providers and payors to sign just one agreement
•	Physician participation in areas of governance, policy development, medical management and credentialing of the physician organization
•	Value-added services for the physicians and office (e.g., medical malpractice coverage, group purchasing)
•	Economies of scale to keep administrative expenses at a minimum

The History of the CCHS PO

With the creation of the Cleveland Clinic Health System in 1997, the system needed to integrate its contracting and care management functions. In 1999, the Cleveland Clinic Community Physician Partnership (CCHS PO) was created by the merger of four physician-hospital organizations (PHOs): Fairview Health System Provider Group, Lakewood Healthcare Provider Network, Marymount Physician Hospital Organization and Meridia Health Plan. This merger, along with the participation of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation has created one managed care contracting entity that has the ability to contract on behalf of the physician participants of the CCHS PO.

Each physician who was a member of one of the original four PHOs was invited to become a physician member of the CCHS PO. Under a written agreement, the physician grants the CCHS PO the authority to negotiate risk-bearing contracts on his/her behalf. In addition, the contract provides that the physician agrees to participate in a non-exclusive messenger model contracting system, in which the CCHS PO acts as the agent or messenger to communicate payor proposals to participating providers.

Physician leadership is the fundamental principle of the CCHS PO. The organization is led by a board of 20 trustees, 18 of whom are physician representatives of both PCPs and specialists and each of the individual system hospitals. This group is responsible for establishing the strategic vision of the organization.

In December, 2007, the CCHS PO changed its name to Cleveland Clinic Community Physician Partnership (CPP). Enhancements to CPP are ongoing, including valuable services to assist with practice management and improving quality.

The Vision

CCHS PO's vision is to competitively negotiate and maintain managed care contracts with payors, to effectively manage the quality and cost of medical care, and to provide value to patients, physicians, hospitals and payors. We will do this by:

•	Being competitive in the marketplace
•	Managing risk competently and competitively
•	Acting as a messenger for non-risk contracting proposals
•	Primary Care Physicians, Specialty Care Physicians and Cleveland Clinic participating hospitals collaborate and work together as partners