UCSF and Hill Physicians

UCSF Joins New Health Care Network

For HMO Members in San Francisco

If you're a member of a health maintenance organization (HMO) and get your health care in San Francisco, a change will occur next year that could affect how you get care at UCSF Medical Center. On Jan. 1, 2010, UCSF and Brown & Toland Medical Group are ending their affiliation. All UCSF doctors are joining Hill Physicians Medical Group, the largest group of independent doctors in Northern California.

To maintain your same level of access to UCSF specialists and services, choose a primary care doctor who's a member of Hill Physicians, rather than Brown & Toland. Choose a Hill primary care doctor before the end of the year, either during open enrollment or when your health plan allows.

More information about this new partnership will be available over the next several months as doctors in San Francisco, Daly City and South San Francisco — including those at UCSF — are added to the Hill Physicians directory. Hill's online directory will be updated regularly to add primary care doctors in San Francisco. Talk to your HMO, your doctor and your employer's benefits representative to find out more about this change.

This will affect you if you get your health care in San Francisco and you're a member of an HMO such as Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross (California Care), Blue Shield, CIGNA, Health Net and United/PacifiCare, including Medicare HMO plans. (Kaiser Permanente is not included.) It also may affect you if you're a member of a point of service (POS) plan. You won't be affected if your health plan is a preferred provider organization (PPO).

We know you have many choices when it comes to your health care and we hope you'll choose Hill Physicians and UCSF. Please be assured that our goal is to make this change occur as smoothly as possible. For more information, read our Frequently Asked Questions or call us at (888) 689-UCSF.

Please check our site for updates as more information becomes available.

Have a question? Contact us.

Read More

• About Us
• FAQs
• For UCSF Employees
• Hill Physicians and UCSF
• Hill Physicians — HMO Enrollment Forms
• Media Reports
  
  • NBC-TV, Channel 3, Oct. 2, 2009, What's Behind the SF Doctor Spat
  • CBS-TV, Channel 5, Sept. 22, 2009, UCSF Doctors, Brown & Toland Part Ways
  • San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 21, 2009, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
• News Release
• Our Partners — Hill and CHW
• Print Ads — Best Doctors and Cancer Survivor
• TV Ads — Cancer Treatment and Heart Specialist

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Hill Physicians — and UCSF

1. Access to San Francisco's Best Doctors: Only the Hill Physicians network in San Francisco includes UCSF's 500 doctors. UCSF has 272 of San Francisco's 480 "best doctors"*.


2. Northern California's Top Hospital: In 2009, UCSF Medical Center was ranked No. 7 nationwide in the U.S. News & World Report rankings — and was the only San Francisco hospital to make the list.


3. Top Ranked Specialists: Eleven specialty services at UCSF such as cancer, gastroenterology, gynecology, neurology and neurosurgery and urology were among the top 10 in the nation in 2009, according to U.S. News & World Report. See UCSF's rankings at www.ucsfhealth.org/usnews.


4. Bay Area's Only Comprehensive Cancer Center: UCSF's Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only Bay Area cancer center designated as comprehensive by the National Cancer Institute. About three-quarters of the 52 best cancer specialists* in San Francisco care for patients at UCSF.


5. Broad Community Physician and Hospital Participation: Along with UCSF, the Hill Physicians San Francisco network includes over 250 community doctors affiliated with Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, St. Mary's Medical Center and other San Francisco community hospitals.


6. San Francisco's Only Children's Hospital: UCSF's 150-bed UCSF Children's Hospital is the only comprehensive children's hospital in San Francisco. Seventy-four percent of San Francisco's best pediatric specialists* are at UCSF.


7. Over 100 Specialty Clinics: UCSF has over 100 specialty clinics, covering virtually all medical conditions, including specialists in arthritis, diabetes, headaches, heart conditions and memory and aging.


8. Premier Women's Health Center: UCSF has Northern California's only nationally designated Women's Health Center of Excellence and is ranked No. 1 in women's health research funding from the National Institute of Health.


9. Cutting Edge Clinical Research and Innovation: UCSF is ranked No. 2 in overall National Institute of Health research funding. Notable firsts resulting from research at UCSF include the first neonatal unit for very sick babies and the first surgery in the womb to correct fetal defects.


10. MyHealth Patient Portal: UCSF and Hill Physicians are implementing a patient portal powered by Relay Health — the premier tool for secure patient to physician communication. At UCSF, the patient portal is called MyHealth.

* Best Doctors, 2008