Acclaim Award

The Acclaim Award is now awarded to two recipients, one organization with more than 150 FTEs and one organization with fewer than 150 FTEs, as determined by AMGA due status. Two additional organizations will be selected as Acclaim Award honorees, regardless of size.

AMGA celebrated 10 years of the Acclaim Award. The Recipient and Honorees were honored during an Acclaim Award Luncheon at AMGA’s Institute for Quality Leadership, September 30 - October 2, 2009, in San Francisco.

The applicant criteria were modified around the six Institute of Medicine Aims by incorporating the six attributes of an ideal healthcare delivery system as identified by the Commonwealth Fund Commission on High Performance Health System. Organizations are asked to demonstrate:

Clinically relevant patient information can be available to all providers at the point of care and to patients, preferably through electronic health record systems.

Patient care is coordinated among multiple providers, and transitions across care settings are actively managed.

All members of the care team both within and across settings have accountability to each other, review each other's work, and collaborate to reliably deliver high quality, high-value care.

Patients have easy access to appropriate care, including after hours; there are multiple points of entry to the system; and providers are culturally competent and responsive to patients’ needs.

There is clear accountability for the total care of patients.

The system is continuously innovating and learning.

The AMGA Board of Directors determined that the Acclaim Award should be sponsored solely by the association, rather than being co-sponsored with industry partners.

For the first year, the 2007 Acclaim Award was granted through AMGA’s philanthropic arm, AMGA Foundation. Further, it was decided that the Steuben Crystal was sufficient recognition and the monetary grants were eliminated.

The application criteria were restructured around the six Institute of Medicine (IOM) Aims for the 21st Century and placed a heavy emphasis on leadership involvement. Applicants were asked to measurably demonstrate progress toward achieving the six aims and transforming their organizations to provide health care that is (1) safe, (2) effective, (3) patient-centered, (4) timely, (5) efficient, and (6) equitable.

AMGA was looking for medical groups that go beyond "quality projects" by embracing the six IOM Aims and using them to make system-wide changes to build a better way of providing care.

The AMGA Acclaim Award began in 1999 as a way of recognizing medical groups for outstanding improvement in patient outcomes. It was initially co-sponsored by AMGA and Pharmacia & Upjohn.

The AMGA Acclaim Award was first awarded in 1999 at the AMGA Annual Conference. It was intended to reward quality improvement efforts, led by physician-directed healthcare organizations, which measurably improve health outcomes and quality of life for patient populations. The Acclaim Award recipient received a $50,000 educational grant and a Steuben Crystal, which was designed specifically for the Acclaim Award.