UW Physicians Network

“The network's board of directors is generally comprised of thirteen voting members which includes 1) three elected community members, 2) three elected primary care physicians from the network clinics and 3) seven ex-officio members including the chief health system officer of uw medicine (chair), president of the harborview medical board, chairperson of the university of washington academic medical center board, president of uw physicians, and chairs of the university of washington department of pediatrics, medicine and family practice. Only four of these members are independent because the remainder are compensated by a related organization.”

“Paul ramsey, md, is the ceo of uw medicine, executive vice president for medical affairs and dean of the school of medicine, university of washington. The following individuals are also employed by the university of washington and report directly or indirectly to dr. Ramsey in that capacity: bradley anawalt, thomas norris, mika sinanan, johnese spisso, jeffrey wright, margaret kerrigan, louise simpson, karen schiller, and lori mitchell. Mika sinanan is the president and peter mcgough is the vice-president of uw physicians. The following individuals are also employed by uw physicians: victoria fang, eva kiss, thomas norris, anne platzner, johnese spisso, timothy burner, suzanne evans, lori mitchell, paul ramsey, patricia read-williams, and pamela sheffield.”

“The dean of the university of washington school of medicine appoints the president of uw physicians network, other officers and board members of uw physicians network which include the chairs of the departments of pediatrics, medicine, and family medicine (who are also appointed by the dean of the university of washington school of medicine).”

“Most decisions of the network's board of directors are subject to the approval of the dean of the university of washington school of medicine.”

“The board has been presented with information related to the purpose and relevance of the form 990 to tax exempt entities such as the network, and board members may request a copy of the form 990 from the network's director of finance. The completed form 990 is reviewed by the network's executive director and director of finance, legal counsel as well as the enterprise finance officer of uw medicine prior to filing with the irs.”

“The network adopted a conflict of interest policy in 2012 that requires the board of trustees and individuals to disclose any conflicts. The network's board members and other individuals who are employed by the university of washington and serving on the network's committees are subject to the state of washington ethics in public service act, chapter 42.52 rcw. The act restricts activities incompatible with the individual's role as a state employee and also limits the individual's involvement in transactions where a potential conflict may exist. The network's employee code of conduct (required to be signed annually) also addresses conflicts of interest. In addition, the network has policies regarding the acceptance of gifts and non-employment of family members. Annually, the network board members and others are required to disclose certain relationships as part of the process to complete the form 990. The network addresses conflicts as they arise and/or are reported to the network's management or the network's board of directors.”

“Compensation of the network's executive director, director of finance, medical director, clinic chiefs and other key employees is reviewed by representatives of uw medicine. The review relies on comparison of compensation to similarly situated individuals, in like-sized organizations engaged in similar activities. The compensation comparison data is reviewed by disinterested employees of uw medicine. The review is performed regularly and documentation is maintained by the school of medicine. The network's board members, in their capacity as university of washington faculty, including the medical director and clinic chiefs, are employed by uw physicians and/or the university of washington school of medicine. Their compensation is reviewed regularly through a university of washington school of medicine process that involves disinterested school of medicine employees who review compensation of all school of medicine faculty. For uw employed physicians, review of compensation also includes application of the "uw physicians network method or standard regarding basic individual caps under the income distribution plan" (uwpn cap policy). The uwpn cap policy limits compensation of the network's members by comparison to objective data such as that published by the medical group management association. The review is performed regularly and documentation is maintained by the school of medicine.”

“The network makes its governing documents and financial statements available to the public upon request to the executive director and/or director of finance.”

“The network applies the university of washington document retention and destruction policy.”

“The hours reported represent the average weekly total amount of time each individual spent working on all of the network's related matters including physician time spent in the clinics, administration time and time spent serving as a board member of the organization if applicable.”

“There are four volunteer members of the board of directors.”