Clinically Integrated Network - About | Wellforce - A Different Kind of Health System

We Are The Physicians' Network

Our Network was formed by envisioning what it would take to create a distinctively different population health enterprise. We built upon the legacy of two long-standing, high-performing organizations – Lowell General Physician Hospital Organization and New England Quality Care Alliance (NEQCA) to launch a new Network that is well-positioned for future success.

Mission and Vision

Our Network’s mission is to bring together private practice and employed physicians, community-based and academic care providers, and primary care and specialists to improve care and reduce costs for defined populations.

Our vision is to make the communities we serve healthier. We aspire to have our aligned physicians experience greater professional and personal satisfaction because we effectively manage outcomes and cost in value-based contracts, and we deliver distinctive care experiences that drive volume-based growth in our markets.

A Physician-Led Enterprise

Our Clinically Integrated Network is governed by a 12-person Board comprising eight practicing primary care and specialty physicians. Four other Trustees include a Wellforce hospital representative, an independent Trustee, and Wellforce’s Chief Physician Executive and Clinically Integrated Network President as ex officio members.

Central Planning, Local Decision-Making

Our Network sets an enterprise agenda for managing populations in value-based contracts, establishes performance goals, and designs best-practice systems.

Our Regional Clinical Councils develop strategies to organize local care teams to effectively manage populations and drive growth in geographic markets. Each Council convenes care teams from across the continuum to improve performance through activities such as unblinded peer-review of data, clinical care model design and clinical and cost performance monitoring. Councils are responsible for:

Monitoring quality and cost, identifying gaps in the care continuum and addressing underperformance
Defining strategies to address clinical under-performance and closing gaps in the continuum of care
Reporting and managing financial performance in the regions and aligning resource allocations to Network goals

Our Physician Advisory Council

A dedicated team of physician leaders has worked for more than a year to create a Clinically Integrated Network firmly rooted in collegiality and committed to the relentless pursuit of performance improvement.

Craig Best, MD

President, Tufts Medical Center PO

Michele Crage, MD

Nephrologist, Woburn Nephrology Associates

David Criss, MD

Cardiologist, Tufts Medical Center Community Care

Daniel Driscoll, MD

Primary Care, Tufts Medical Center Community Care

Joseph Frolkis, MD

CEO, NEQCA

William Galvin, MD

OB/GYN, Circle Health OB/GYN

Mark Gilchrist, MD

Pediatrician, Mark G. Gilchrist MD, LLC

Ted Herwig, MD

Primary Care, Bickford Health Associates

Michael Jiser, MD

Surgeon, Riverside Surgical Associates

Kelli Kennedy, MD

Pediatrician, Healthcare South

Frank Osborn, MD

Family Practice, Merrimack Family Medicine

Tushar Patel, MD

Internal Medicine, Riverside Medical Group

David Pickul, MD

Internal Medicine, Mill City Medical

Peter Roman, MD

Orthopedic Surgeon, Merrimack Valley Orthopedic Associates

Michael Wagner, MD

Chief Physician Executive, Wellforce

Interested in learning more?

Please contact Michael Wagner, MD

Wellforce Chief Physician Executive

Phone: 978-942-2330

Email us