The Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Health Care, Research and Education (PAMF) is a not-for-profit health care organization with medical offices in more than 15 cities throughout the Bay Area. PAMF’s roots can be traced back to 1930 when Dr. Russel Van Arsdale Lee founded the Palo Alto Medical Clinic in Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...

. Today, PAMF is one of California’s top rated medical groups and has more than 900 physicians serving patients in Alameda

Alameda County, California

Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...

, San Mateo

San Mateo County, California

San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...

, Santa Clara

Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...

 and Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...

 Counties.

History

• Within PAMC’s first few years, several physicians joined Dr. Lee including Esther Clark, one of the first female physicians in the country.
• In 1946—before health plans were standard business—PAMC agreed to provide medical care to nearby Stanford University
  Stanford University
  The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
  
   students in exchange for a flat fee.
• In 1950, PAMC became one of the first facilities in the nation to offer radiation therapy
  Radiation therapy
  Radiation therapy , radiation oncology, or radiotherapy , sometimes abbreviated to XRT or DXT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells.Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumor because of its ability to control...
  
   for cancer patients in an outpatient setting. Fifteen years later, they purchased the first mammography
  Mammography
  Mammography is the process of using low-energy-X-rays to examine the human breast and is used as a diagnostic and a screening tool....
  
   machine on the West Coast.
• In 1981, the for-profit physician group PAMC created the not-for-profit PAMF to control its operations and assets.
• In 1993, PAMF became an affiliate of Sutter Health
  Sutter Health
  Sutter Health is a not-for-profit health system in Northern California, headquartered in Sacramento. Serving patients and their families in more than 100 Northern California cities and towns, Sutter Health doctors, hospitals and other health care service providers join resources and share expertise...
  
  , a not-for-profit organization with hospitals and medical groups throughout Northern California.
• In 2008, PAMF’s three medical groups – Camino Medical Group (CMG), Palo Alto Medical Clinic and Santa Cruz Medical Clinic (SCMC) – merged to form a single medical group.

Education and research

In addition to its Health Care Division, which experienced more than 2 million patient visits in 2008, PAMF consists of an Education Division and Research Institute.

PAMF’s Education Division provides classes, lectures, support groups and consultations on topics ranging from parenting to weight management. The Education Division also manages PAMF’s Community Health Resource Centers located in Dublin

Dublin, California

Dublin is a suburban city of the East Bay region of Alameda County, California, United States. Located along the north side of Interstate 580 at the intersection with Interstate 680, roughly east of Hayward, west of Livermore and north of San Jose, it was named after the city of Dublin in...

, Fremont

Fremont, California

Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...

, Mountain View

Mountain View, California

-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...

 and Palo Alto

Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...

.

PAMF’s Research Institute is located in Palo Alto and has more than 30 staff members including scientists, researcher

Researcher

A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...

s, postdoctoral fellows and staff members. PAMF researchers conduct clinical studies in four departments: Health Services, Clinical Research

Clinical research

Clinical research is a branch of medical science that determines the safety and effectiveness of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use...

, Health Policy Research and Cardiovascular Physiology and Biophysics

Biophysics

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...

.

e-Health technology

A leader in e-health technology, PAMF implemented its electronic health record

Electronic Health Record

An electronic health record is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations...

 (EHR) system in 1999. According to a 2008 San Francisco Business Times article, “only 18 percent of hospitals and clinics nationwide have implemented electronic health records. Only about one in four doctors use some form of EHRs.” The EHRs allow medical providers to access patient information without the use of traditional paper medical charts

Medical record

The terms medical record, health record, and medical chart are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the systematic documentation of a single patient's medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider's jurisdiction....

. PAMF doctors and nurses use computers located in each exam room to update the patients’ EHRs; view medical history

Medical history

The medical history or anamnesis of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either of the patient or of other people who know the person and can give suitable information , with the aim of obtaining information useful in formulating a diagnosis and providing...

; order tests and see test results; make referrals; and send electronic prescription requests to pharmacies during an office visit.

PAMF also provides an e-health service called PAMFOnline that allows patients to view their EHRs from their personal computers, request appointments and prescription renewals, and access test results online. In 2008, PAMF used technology to make another significant step in participatory medicine

Participatory Medicine

The Society for Participatory Medicine defines Participatory Medicine as a movement in which networked patients shift from being mere passengers to responsible drivers of their health, and in which providers encourage and value them as full partners....

 when it launched a "pilot program to promote online communication between diabetic patients and their health care providers."

PAMF's Chief Medical Information Officer Dr. Paul Tang is "considered a leader in health IT" and serves on multiple national committees concerned with advancing the country’s health care system using information technology

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

. Currently, Dr. Tang is the vice-chair of the federal Health Information Technology Policy Committee, and chair of its Meaningful Use Work Group. Established under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the group advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on policies related to health information technology

Health information technology

Health information technology provides the umbrella framework to describe the comprehensive management of health information across computerized systems and its secure exchange between consumers, providers, government and quality entities, and insurers...

.

Multispecialty care

PAMF is a multispecialty group practice, which means patients benefit from an expansive roster of doctors with different specialties who share resources and expertise. In addition to best practices, multispecialty groups are able to share facilities, expenses and support staff. According to a 2010 Healthcare Finance News article, "A study published in the May 2010 online issue of Health Affairs finds that large multi-specialty medical groups provide higher quality care at a lower cost compared with physicians in small group practices."

As a multispecialty group practice, PAMF offers both general and specialized medical services including family medicine

Family medicine

Family medicine is a medical specialty devoted to comprehensive health care for people of all ages. It is a division of primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, sexes, diseases, and parts of the body...

, internal medicine

Internal medicine

Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...

, pediatrics

Pediatrics

Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

, allergy

Allergy

An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...

 and immunology

Immunology

Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...

, anesthesiology, anticoagulation clinic, asthma

Asthma

Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...

, audiology

Audiology

Audiology is the branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Its practitioners, who treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage are audiologists. Employing various testing strategies Audiology (from Latin , "to hear"; and from Greek , -logia) is...

, aviation medicine

Aviation medicine

Aviation medicine, also called flight medicine or aerospace medicine, is a preventive or occupational medicine in which the patients/subjects are pilots, aircrews, or persons involved in spaceflight...

, cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 care, cardiology

Cardiology

Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...

, cosmetic surgery, dermatology

Dermatology

Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....

, ear, nose and throat, employee health, endocrinology

Endocrinology

Endocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...

 and metabolism

Metabolism

Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...

, ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

 and optometry

Optometry

Optometry is a health care profession concerned with eyes and related structures, as well as vision, visual systems, and vision information processing in humans. Optometrists, or Doctors of Optometry, are state licensed medical professionals trained to prescribe and fit lenses to improve vision,...

, plastic surgery

Plastic surgery

Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...

, fertility and reproductive endocrinology

Reproductive endocrinology and infertility

Reproductive endocrinology and infertility is a surgical subspecialty of obstetrics and gynecology that trains physicians in reproductive medicine addressing hormonal functioning as it pertains to reproduction as well as the issue of infertility...

, gastroenterology

Gastroenterology

Gastroenterology is the branch of medicine whereby the digestive system and its disorders are studied. The name is a combination of three Ancient Greek words gaster , enteron , and logos...

, geriatric medicine, gynecologic oncology

Gynecologic oncology

Gynecologic oncology is a specialized field of medicine that focuses on cancers of the female reproductive system, including ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, and vulvar cancer...

, hematology

Hematology

Hematology, also spelled haematology , is the branch of biology physiology, internal medicine, pathology, clinical laboratory work, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases...

, weight management, infectious diseases and immunology, interventional pulmonology, joint replacement

Joint replacement

Replacement arthroplasty [from Greek arthron, joint, limb, articulate, + -plassein, to form, mould, forge, feign, make an image of], or joint replacement surgery, is a procedure of orthopedic surgery in which the arthritic or dysfunctional joint surface is replaced with an orthopaedic prosthesis...

, nephrology

Nephrology

Nephrology is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney.-Scope of the specialty:...

, nutrition

Nutrition

Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....

, neurology

Neurology

Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...

, neurosurgery

Neurosurgery

Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...

, nuclear medicine

Nuclear medicine

In nuclear medicine procedures, elemental radionuclides are combined with other elements to form chemical compounds, or else combined with existing pharmaceutical compounds, to form radiopharmaceuticals. These radiopharmaceuticals, once administered to the patient, can localize to specific organs...

, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

, orthopedics

Orthopedics

Orthopedics is the study of the musculoskeletal system. The Greek word 'ortho' means straight or correct and 'pedics' comes from the Greek 'pais' meaning children. For many centuries, orthopedists have been involved in the treatment of crippled children...

, pediatric specialties, urgent care

Urgent care

Urgent care is the delivery of ambulatory care in a facility dedicated to the delivery of medical care outside of a hospital emergency department, usually on an unscheduled, walk-in basis. Urgent care centers are primarily used to treat patients who have an injury or illness that requires immediate...

, physical therapy

Physical therapy

Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...

, podiatry

Podiatry

Podiatry is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and lower leg. The term podiatry came into use first in the early 20th century United States, where it now denotes a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine , a specialist who is qualified by their...

, psychiatry

Psychiatry

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...

 and behavioral health, pulmonary disease and critical care

Critical care

Critical care may refer to:* Critical care medicine or intensive-care medicine, a branch of medicine concerned with life support for critically ill patients* "Critical Care" , an episode of the TV series...

, radiation oncology, rheumatology

Rheumatology

Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...

, robotic surgery

Robotic surgery

Robotic surgery, computer-assisted surgery, and robotically-assisted surgery are terms for technological developments that use robotic systems to aid in surgical procedures....

, sleep medicine

Sleep medicine

Sleep medicine is a medical specialty or subspecialty devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of sleep disturbances and disorders. From the middle of the 20th century, research has provided increasing knowledge and answered many questions about sleep-wake functioning. The rapidly evolving field has...

, sports medicine

Sports medicine

Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness, treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise...

, general surgery

General surgery

General surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...

, surgical oncology

Surgical oncology

Surgical oncology is the branch of surgery which focuses on the surgical management of cancer.The specialty of surgical oncology has evolved in steps similar to medical oncology, which grew out of hematology, and radiation oncology, which grew out of radiology...

, travel medicine

Travel medicine

Travel medicine or emporiatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention and management of health problems of international travelers.-Globalization and travel:...

, urgent care

Urgent care

Urgent care is the delivery of ambulatory care in a facility dedicated to the delivery of medical care outside of a hospital emergency department, usually on an unscheduled, walk-in basis. Urgent care centers are primarily used to treat patients who have an injury or illness that requires immediate...

, urology

Urology

Urology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...

, vascular

Vascular

Vascular in zoology and medicine means "related to blood vessels", which are part of the circulatory system. An organ or tissue that is vascularized is heavily endowed with blood vessels and thus richly supplied with blood....

 center and weight loss surgery.

Structure

PAMF is part of the Sutter Health Peninsula Coastal Region, which also includes Mills Peninsula Health Services, Menlo Park Surgical Hospital and Sutter Maternity and Surgical Center of Santa Cruz. PAMF is governed by the Sutter Health Peninsula Coastal Region Board of Directors and a Community Board of Trustees. Its physicians are led by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Group Board of Directors.

PAMF’s administrative staff includes the following:

• Chief Executive Officer
• President of the Santa Cruz Division
• President of the Palo Alto Division
• President of the Camino Division
• Vice President of Philanthropy
• Vice President of Support Services and Project Development
• Vice President of Education
• Vice President of Research
• Director of Finance for the Research Institute
• Vice President of Information Systems and Chief Information Officer
• Vice President of Payor Contracting
• Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer

Awards and Grants

• In 2009, PAMF was named a top performer by the Integrated Healthcare Association, which ranks California medical groups based on clinical quality, patient experience, use of information technology and coordinated diabetes care.

• In 2009, PAMF’s Chief Medical Information Officer Dr. Paul Tang was listed on Modern Healthcare’s list of 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare.
• In 2009, the National Institutes of Health awarded PAMF’s Research Institute more than $2 million in federal stimulus grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
• In 2008, PAMF received the 2008 Sutter Health President’s Award for Best Overall Performance among Sutter’s medical foundations.

External links

• PAMF Web Site
• Sutter Health Web Site
• Mills-Peninsula Health Services Web site