"HealthLeaders Media" Names Dr. Richard Merkin a Top 20 Healthcare Leader in 2012

MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- "HealthLeaders Media" Magazine has named Dr. Richard Merkin, President and CEO, Heritage Provider Network, one of the top 20 healthcare leaders for 2012.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121219/LA32083)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120418/LA89605LOGO-a)

In the annual "HealthLeaders 20" profiling individuals who are playing a critical role in improving healthcare, Dr. Merkin was recognized for his visionary approach to solving complex medical problems through the $3 million Heritage Health Prize Competition.  The goal of the prize is to help save the country over $40 billion in avoidable hospital costs.  The prize is the world's largest predictive modeling contest, challenging entrants to create an algorithm that predicts how many days a patient will spend in the hospital in a given year.
(www.heritagehealthprize.com)

"I am honored to be included in the "HealthLeaders 20" as a global leader in healthcare innovation," said Dr. Merkin. "The Heritage Health Prize has attracted over 27,000 entries from around the globe representing many different sectors of industry.  I truly believe this competition can help solve our country's $3 trillion healthcare crises in a globally transformative way," he continued.

"We noticed that when we identify patients at high-risk for hospitalization, in many instances early intervention might be able to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations," Dr. Merkin continued. "It became obvious that if we could identify these high risk patients with greater specificity and sensitivity, we could help transform healthcare by hopefully reallocating some of the care dollars into cure dollars. Creating this prize establishes a competition within an online global problem solving community encouraging entrants to share innovative ideas that will change healthcare delivery."

April 3, 2013 marks the close of the two year Heritage Health Prize competition. The individual or team that has reached the benchmark and has the best score will receive the $3 million prize. Cash prizes were also awarded at the 6, 12 and 18 month mark in the competition.

Partly as a result of the prize, HPN was also recently named one of the most innovative companies in healthcare for 2012 by "Fast Company Magazine."

The Heritage Health Prize is one of a number of competitions Dr. Merkin is sponsoring in HPN's ongoing efforts to spur innovations that improve quality and reduce inefficiencies in healthcare.  HPN sponsored the "Go Viral to Improve Health" Prize, together with the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering in Washington, DC, awarded in June 2012. (http://www.youtube.com/hpnhealth) HPN also sponsored the First Lego League Global Innovation Award that recognizes a group of young inventors who have applied outstanding innovation and creativity in solving a particular problem. Currently, HPN is working on creating a series of new prizes to solve pressing healthcare problems that should be announced shortly.

ABOUT HPN:

Heritage Provider Network, Inc. (HPN) is on the cutting edge of the accountable care model of healthcare delivery: coordinated, patient-doctor centric, integrated health care systems that represent the future of health care in the United States. HPN develops programs and services that are responsive to the healthcare needs of today's patient. HPN designs its networks to offer patients a comprehensive range of medical care in convenient locations.  It organizes and manages medical groups and independent practice associations, integrating with hospitals and ancillary care providers. This system represents a workable, successful business model that has been duplicated with medical groups, IPAs and medical facilities throughout California.  HPN is dedicated to quality, affordable health care and putting patients' wellness first. (www.heritageprovidernetwork.com)

SOURCE Heritage Provider Network, Inc.