Big medical group changes its name to avoid a conflict

When the 700 doctors at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and four other physician groups chose a name three years ago for their new umbrella organization, HealthOne Care System , they thought they picked a winner.

The problem was the name was too good. Another group already had claimed it -- a hospital network in Denver called HealthONE. So the Boston-area group is rebranding itself with a name that cost "tens of thousands" of dollars to develop: Atrius Health .

Atrius Health chief executive Debra A. Geihsler , who was hired last year to lead Harvard Vanguard and its affiliated umbrella group, said she liked the old name. But even though the Denver health network had not complained, she said, the Boston doctors did not want to risk a conflict as they prepare to embark on a more aggressive branding push.

The new name will appear on signs and will be linked to each of the organization's five group practices, Harvard Vanguard , Dedham Medical Associates , Granite Medical , South Shore Medical Center , and Southboro Medical Group . It also will be used in Atrius joint ventures such as a radiation oncology center that will open soon in Weymouth. The five medical groups in Atrius are linked by a common electronic medical records system and share administrative functions. Altogether, it has about 600,000 patients.

"We just didn't want to have any encumbrances on the name as we promote ourselves," Geihsler said. "We wanted to make sure we had a name that we legally owned."

Derived from "atrium" and "radius," Atrius evokes the type of patient-centered care the group is striving to provide, she added. The name was developed by Steve Smith and his colleagues at BrandEquity , a marketing and communications firm in Newton.

The team developed a list of about 20 possible names, including recognizable words picked from the dictionary as well as made-up words. Smith declined to discuss any of the rejects, but he said Geihsler and the physician executives in the group clearly preferred Atrius.

" 'A' is first in the dictionary and easy to recall. The 'T' sound is very strong, solid, abrupt, but balanced by the beautiful i-u-s," Smith said. "Atrius sounds nice. It is a pleasant word to say."

The challenge for the Atrius group now, said Geihsler, is to "make sure it takes on a meaning."

Christopher Rowland can be reached at crowland@globe.com.