Employer Direct Healthcare Expands Surgeons of Excellence Network to Include Cleveland Clinic for Cardiothoracic Surgery

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Employer Direct Healthcare; Cleveland Clinic

Feb 24, 2021, 10:43 ET

DALLAS, Feb. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Employer Direct Healthcare is expanding its SurgeryPlus^® Surgeons of Excellence network to include Cleveland Clinic's Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute as a cardiothoracic surgery in-network provider. This expansion will improve access for SurgeryPlus^® members to high-quality care for planned heart, vascular, and thoracic surgeries.

Lars Svensson, MD, PhD, is the Chairman of the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Svensson is an internationally known cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon. His research has led to many innovative surgical treatments and techniques.

Cleveland Clinic is a leader in cardiovascular care and provides a top-tier patient experience for those with common to complex heart conditions. For the 26th consecutive year, Cleveland Clinic's heart program has ranked as the best in the nation, earning the No. 1 ranking in U.S. News & World Report's "2020-21 Best Hospitals." The Cleveland Clinic has also earned the top ranking for the past few years by the Society for Thoracic Surgery, a validated, independent assessment of reported outcomes data, as one of very few programs that received three star rankings (the best) for the five most common heart operations.

Unique to the SurgeryPlus^® experience, Lars Svensson, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, will review members' medical records to determine which Cleveland Clinic physician is best suited to conduct their surgery or procedure. This partnership provides access to world class surgeons and surgical teams to treat some of the most complex cardiothoracic needs of SurgeryPlus members with best-in-class outcomes.

"We are proud to welcome Employer Direct Healthcare to our Center of Excellence Program," said Dr. Svensson. "This relationship will allow us to provide access to high-quality heart care to Employer Direct Healthcare's members and their families, in a cost-efficient way."

Employer Direct Healthcare's Surgeons of Excellence network is comprised of a carefully curated network of physician leaders with notable performance outcomes for their respective disciplines. Ryan Burke, Managing Director of Employer Direct Healthcare commented, "the inclusion of Cleveland Clinic and their cardiothoracic surgeons in our Surgeons of Excellence network provides enormous value to our SurgeryPlus^® members with heart healthcare needs. We are deliberate in our network development so that we can ensure the highest quality of care while also reducing or eliminating the financial burden so many patients encounter. This collaboration with Cleveland Clinic means that our members can access the care they need, have the greatest opportunity of desirable health outcomes, and ensure a reasonably economical cost to both the member and their employer."

Together, Employer Direct Healthcare and Cleveland Clinic are uniquely positioned to achieve outstanding health care outcomes while the industry continues to move in a direction favoring a comprehensive and outcome-oriented health care delivery model.

About Employer Direct Healthcare and SurgeryPlus^®

Employer Direct Healthcare is a market-leading health care services business providing high-quality and cost-efficient solutions for self-funded employers and their members. The company's core product, the SurgeryPlus^™ benefit, provides full-service surgical concierge and network services to nearly two million covered members. The company helps members access quality providers, helping employers and their plan participants dramatically reduce surgical costs while providing satisfying outcomes for members.

To learn more about Employer Direct Healthcare | SurgeryPlus, please visit www.edhc.com

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Among Cleveland Clinic's 67,554 employees worldwide are more than 4,520 salaried physicians and researchers, and 17,000 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,026-bed health system that includes a 165-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 19 hospitals, more than 220 outpatient facilities, and locations in southeast Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2019, there were 9.8 million total outpatient visits, 309,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 255,000 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic's health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/CCforMedia and twitter.com/ClevelandClinic. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.