Selecting a Medical Group
The Medical Group Difference
Your selection of a medical group determines the number of specialists in your network, the ease of referrals, the hospitals you are likely to use and the amount or type of preventive, educational and disease management support you can expect.
Additionally, medical groups may vary by quality. Hill Physicians has received the highest rating possible – Elite – from the California Association of Physician Groups.
So, not all medical groups are the same. We encourage you to pro-actively select your medical group in order to fine tune your healthcare. If you are enrolling in an HMO, select “Hill Physicians” as your medical group and then choose a Hill Physicians primary care doctor. If you already have an HMO, you can change to Hill Physicians by calling your plan.
How to Choose Hill | Questions About Medical Groups
Why It’s Important to Choose Your Group
This 4-minute video shows why it’s important to proactively choose a medical group and why more than 300,000 decide to get more with Hill.
Questions to Ask About a Medical Group
Q: Will I have a broad range of physicians and other providers from which to choose?
A. With Hill Physicians, you have access to more than 3,700 independent physicians and other healthcare providers, including 1,000 primary care physicians (PCPs) and more than 2,000 specialists across more than 100 specialties. Use our Physician Directory to find your physician.
Q. Does the medical group contract with the health plans available to me?
A. Hill Physicians works with the leading HMO health plans in northern California. Check our list of Health Plans.
Q. What does the group do to help to ensure the ongoing quality of care among its physicians?
A. Hill Physicians is dedicated to the health of our members. We continually monitor our clinical results, both for the individual physicians and across the medical group. And, we provide our physicians with data on their performance to ensure continual improvement at the individual practice level.
Q. How do the medical groups compare in terms of clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction?
A. In terms of clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction, Hill Physicians is consistently rated among the best of California’s 200 medical groups by the California Office of the Patient Advocate.
Q. Which hospitals do the physicians in the medical group use?
A. Hill Physicians has agreements with three dozen hospitals across Northern California, including exceptional choices near you. You’ll typically use a quality facility in your area, but you’ll also have access to the full array of hospitals, based upon prior approval. Discuss your hospital preferences with your primary care physician. See our Hospitals and Urgent Care Centers here...
Q. How easy is the referral process to a specialist or other healthcare professional? Can I self-refer?
A. With Hill Physicians, your primary care physician can refer you to a specialist without waiting for prior authorization from our administrative offices.
For vision, mental health and OB/GYN services, you can self-refer from our network.
Q. What does the medical group do to encourage preventive health and wellness?
A. Hill Physicians is one of the industry leaders in preventive medicine through our preventive screenings, clinical quality measurements and our outreach techniques. Our goal is to keep you well, so we also offer you many in-person classes and classes that you can take over the phone.
Q. Does your Medical Group offer alternative medicine, health education or wellness management services?
A. We offer a full range of healthcare resources and alternative medicine programs, including hypnosis, biofeedback, nutrition and massage therapy. For those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, we offer services such as individualized case management and peer support.
Q. What kind of online tools does your Medical Group offer?
A. Our 24/7 online health resources include Online Health Centers, a comprehensive Health Library to research medical conditions, original self-help audio and video podcasts, health information delivered by text message and the convenience of secured online communications with your doctor (many practices).
Q. Does your medical group offer emailing, online prescription refills, Electronic Health Records and other online solutions for your doctor?
A. Hill Physicians is pleased to offer our “Talk to Your Doctor” service. It’s free and makes it easier to request appointments, refills and to view some lab results online. Many Hill practices use Electronic Health Records and Enterprise Practice management software to simplify your office visits. eSolutions you can read more about here…
Q. Can I select Hill Physicians as my medical group if I my coverage is through Medi-Cal, Healthy Families or Healthy Kids?
A. Many Hill Physicians doctors in Sacramento, San Joaquin and San Francisco accept these plans. Learn More about Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and Healthy Kids...
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