The Sound Story

Our Vision

To be a world-class medical group that improves quality and reduces the cost of healthcare for patients in every community we serve.

Core Values

  • Quality
    We strive for better in every aspect of our practice.
  • Service
    We take care of our patients, our partners, and each other.
  • Teamwork
    We work in unison with a shared purpose.
  • Innovation
    We drive new and better ways of doing things.
  • Integrity
    We do right by one another, our partners, and our patients.

Our History

Robert Bessler Whiteboarding Session
Robert Bessler Whiteboarding Session

2001

Dr. Robert Bessler starts Sound Physicians in the Pacific Northwest with the goal of providing extraordinary patient care during the acute episode and establishing a respected name in hospital medicine.

Two physicians in hospital hallway
Two physicians in hospital hallway

2001 – 2007

As our physician-led reputation grows, we continue to create the practice of choice for physicians, building trust by investing in physician leadership training and creating a culture focused on the physician experience.

Chris Pruitt, MD meeting with hospital executives
Chris Pruitt, MD meeting with hospital executives

2008 – 2014

We hone our performance management expertise, using technology to create transparency and accountability by bringing data to the point of decision making, and creating new roles – clinical performance nurses and physician advisors – to achieve even greater efficiencies and value for our partners.

Intensivists at Rush Copley
Intensivists at Rush Copley

2015 – 2018

We expand our practice to emergency medicine and critical care and become one of the largest participants in Medicare’s bundled payment for care improvement initiative (BPCI) learning how to improve quality and lower the cost of post-acute care.

Physician standing by hospital window
Physician standing by hospital window

2019 – 2022

To further our impact across the acute care episode and beyond, Sound adds telemedicine, anesthesia, value-based partnerships, and establishes a long-term care accountable care organization.

Clinicians with telemedicine cart
Clinicians with telemedicine cart

Today

We’re one of the most respected multi-specialty medical groups in the U.S. and the practice of choice for over 4,000 physicians, advanced practice providers, CRNAs, and nurses. Our highly respected practices have extraordinary Net Promoter Scores® and regularly outperform national averages on length of stay (LOS) and case mix index (CMI). We have the fastest-growing anesthesia and post-acute telemedicine practices in the country, and we partner with more than 400 hospitals in the U.S., managing approximately 6 percent of all acute medical hospitalizations. This scale allows us to deliver best-in-class clinical processes to drive the results you need.