Three doctors leave Premier for UPMC
Three internists have left Monroeville-based Premier Medical Associates to join the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, according to spokesman Paul Wood.
Drs. George Wahal, Andrew Margolis and Kahir Ariff will become UPMC doctors next month, Wood said. The move was in the works before Premier reached agreement July 8 with West Penn Allegheny Health System to accept 30 primary care doctors who were employed by the health system, Wood said.
The West Penn Allegheny-Premier deal followed nine months of negotiations, which will increase Premier’s heft as a medical care provider in the city’s eastern suburbs while helping West Penn Allegheny cut losses associated with its employed physicians’ group. Premier is the biggest independent physicians’ group in the region; UPMC is the dominant hospital network, followed by West Penn Allegheny.
In May, UPMC reported its operating income rose 16 percent year-over-year for the first nine months of 2010. West Penn by contrast, saw an operating loss of $5.2 million between January and March, and announced last month it planned to trim 1,500 jobs and close the emergency room at its hospital in the city's Bloomfield neighborhood.