FierceHealthcare reports that as part of “a new team-based approach to healthcare, Rutgers University plans to create a new clinical branch that will put its medical school faculty and clinical staff into one health provider network–a move that officials say will revolutionize patient care across New Jersey.”

The university announced this week that it will become the first academic healthcare provider organization in America to  fully integrate, in Fierce’s words, “a full-range of health-related specialties, including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and clinical psychology–in addition to more traditional fields, such as neurology, surgery, cardiology and oncology.”

Fierce reported that “Rutgers Health will serve as the clinical arm of the university, becoming the single brand for all Rutgers patient care and patient services. The Rutgers Health Group will become a state-wide faculty practice that is made up of more than 1.000 Rutgers-based physicians, dentists, psychologists, nurses, pharmacists and other clinicians. The network will include the teaching hospitals, community centers, medical groups, wellness centers and other affiliated entities and partners.”

“Rutgers President Robert Barchi told the publication the decision was one of necessity. If the university didn’t create an integrated clinical entity, he said the organization would have likely lost millions of dollars in reimbursement as the industry moves away from fee-for-service to value-based payments.”