PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Rothman Orthopaedics, one of the country’s leading Orthopaedic group practices, NueHealth, the leading value-based Ambulatory Surgical Platform company, and MUVE Health, developer and operator of total joint and spine centers, have entered into an agreement to integrate their models and platforms. The companies are not merging but forming a new transformational joint venture intended to expand, replicate and scale what the partnership has developed in the Greater Philadelphia market, which has become one of the largest musculoskeletal surgical networks in the country. Rothman Orthopaedics has over 200 Physicians in 40 locations and operates in 45 surgical sites across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. In 2019, Rothman will perform over 85,000 surgical and pain management procedures with a significant portion performed in low cost, high quality surgical facilities while delivering unparalleled patient and physician satisfaction scores.
The partnership will focus on expanding and integrating their respective platforms beyond the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Together, they are evaluating a number of opportunities with orthopaedic practices and health systems in Florida, Texas and several mid-west states. Together they will also continue expanding their capability and technology platforms in the greater Philadelphia and tri-state region by adding five to seven MUVE Health total joint/spine centers over the next two years, leading the transformation from high cost fee-for-service surgical care to lower cost, higher quality, value-based care, partnering with payors and employers in the region.
Alex Vaccaro, M.D., Ph. D., M.B.A, President of Rothman Orthopaedics said, “The vision of Rothman Orthopaedics has always been to deliver a national platform to take orthopaedic care to new levels of value and clinical excellence for our patients. With the expansion of our NueHealth and MUVE Health relationships, we can share the innovation, clinical performance and economic value we have created together over the past 8 years, with orthopaedic physicians and health systems in key markets across the U.S. Combining our best in class clinical practice and ambulatory surgical platforms will accelerate the transformation into value-based care and continue our commitment to developing new treatments, testing new devices and setting surgical standards in orthopaedic care.” 
“The significance of these initiatives for NueHealth, MUVE Health and Rothman Orthopaedics cannot be overstated,” said Mike West, CEO of Rothman Orthopaedics. “This partnership will lead the way and set the standard for orthopaedic practices and orthopaedic patient care in the future, building off proven best in class models.”
“We are very excited about the commitment of our Rothman partners to expand our platform integration and to scale the unprecedented clinical and economic success we have had together in the Greater Philadelphia market into new areas of the country. Orthopaedics is leading the transition from fee-for-service care to value-based care and Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty being delivered in tech-enabled, clinically integrated and purpose built facilities like our MUVE Health centers is what the consumer, payor and employers are demanding,” said Dan Tasset, CEO of NueHealth.
“The new joint venture will allow for the acceleration of ValueHealth’s mission of transforming ambulatory surgical care. This national partnership will give us the flexibility and capacity to invest more meaningfully in transforming our current NueHealth orthopaedic facilities, develop more MUVE Health hyper-specialty centers in target markets and deliver on the promise of value-based care for patients, payors and employers,” said John Palumbo, Executive Chairman of ValueHealth, the parent company of NueHealth and MUVE Health.
About Rothman Orthopaedics
Since its founding in 1970, Rothman Orthopaedics has grown from a single Philadelphia office into one of the nation’s largest and most-respected orthopaedic practices. Orthopaedics is all that this organization does. Rothman Orthopaedics remains consistently focused on treating both routine and complex musculoskeletal issues that result in a higher quality of life for its patients. It’s a powerhouse of innovation and an international leader in developing new treatments, testing new devices and setting surgical standards. It’s a research pioneer that is committed to uncovering the root cause of orthopaedic diseases and injuries and finding better ways to treat them. It’s a teaching organization that trains dozens of residents and fellows each year and conducts teaching sessions via simulcast and webcast to colleagues around the world. As the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute has grown in capability, staff and reputation, it has broadened its reach into dozens of communities throughout the Philadelphia suburbs, New Jersey and New York. While this growth is impressive, it hasn’t come at the expense of the patient experience. Rothman Orthopaedics will always “practice local,” putting an emphasis on caring for its patients in the communities in which they live. For more information, visit www.rothmanortho.com.
About NueHealth
NueHealth has over 20 years of proven success in multi-specialty and orthopaedic specialty surgical care. It is a national leader in developing, building, managing and growing specialty surgical hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers (“ASCs”) and orthopaedic specialty centers. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Leawood, KS, the Company has managed and held ownership interests in over 150 facilities since its inception. NueHealth currently manages and/or owns 57 surgical facilities in 21 states with strategic geographic clustering in the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and throughout Texas. NueHealth’s operating platform improves the delivery and quality of surgical services to millions of patients. In partnership with leading physicians, health systems and medical groups, NueHealth facilities produce clinical and financial performance unrivaled in surgical care. With the advent of pay for value programs, NueHealth is positioned unlike any other segment competitor to successfully lead our provider partners through value-based payment reform. For more information, visit www.nuehealth.com.
About MUVE Health
MUVE Health is the nation’s premier value-based outpatient total joint replacement provider. MUVE Health’s protocol-driven orthopaedic program delivers outstanding clinical outcomes at a predictable cost, in an optimized outpatient environment, unparalleled in recovery guidance and patient experience. MUVE Health is expanding nationally in 2019 with three centers currently under development in the Philadelphia market and three additional centers in various Texas markets. MUVE Health’s current flagship total joint replacement center is located in Lakeway, TX, outside of Austin. MUVE Lakeway and the MUVE program have received The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval®for Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement. It is the first ASC in the state of Texas to earn this advanced certification, awarded exclusively to Joint Commission-accredited hospitals, critical access hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers seeking to elevate the quality, consistency and safety of their services and patient care. For more information, visit www.MUVEhealth.com.
About ValueHealth
ValueHealth is the parent company to NueHealth and MUVE Health and is a technology-enabled, market-based platform that assists payors and providers in delivering prospective bundle payment arrangements which are an alternative to high-cost fee-for-service surgical care for their members and patients. ValueHealth’s platform affiliates: NueHealth, MUVE Health, Benefit Management, Healthcare RE and the ValueHealth Transformation Center uniquely position the platform to deliver high value surgical care for payors, providers and patients. ValueHealth redefines what it means to be a healthcare network. Its Ambulatory Centers of ExcellenceTM (ACE) network platform facilitates new levels of accessibilities, alignment, risk readiness and consumer transparency. For more information, visit www.ValueHealth.com.
Whitney Courser, 913-387-0510, wcourser@nuehealth.com
SOURCE NueHealth