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Two major health care delivery systems serving the greater Atlanta region will partner. While remaining independent, Piedmont Healthcare and WellStar Health System will create the Georgia Health Collaborative, which may add more delivery systems in the future. Both organizations are implementing electronic health records and related information systems from Epic Systems Corp.

The goal of the collaborative is to gain a broader geographic and population base to improve clinical outcomes while reducing costs. “A collaborative allows us to create both scale and efficiency without the same debt and integration challenges that come with expansion or acquisition,” says Gregory Hurst, president and interim COO at Piedmont.

The delivery systems will create a board for the collaborative, members of which will include a chair, the CEO or COO of both systems and two more members from each system.