Digitizing Healthcare for Efficient Operations

And Trends That Have Been Impacting The Healthcare Industry Lately?

We are seeing an increased focus on value-based care (VBC) as more payers move towards VBC models. These models require a team approach to care management and greater information sharing that allows providers to collect data and metrics to identify areas of need and address them. Working with Privia Health has helped us better navigate these changes and move towards VBC models, while continuing to manage our practices and deliver high-quality care to our patients.

Telehealth continues to be a big focus. Initially, we had to expand our telehealth and virtual health options during the Covid pandemic, and patients still want access to these options today. Telehealth continues to appeal to patients as it offers greater flexibility and more access to healthcare services when patients need it. Workforce shortages have been an issue since the Covid pandemic and we are still seeing this issue persist today, spanning nurses to physicians. In regard to primary care, it has become increasingly difficult to find internal medicine physicians to expand our practice or replace physicians nearing retirement, and this is a major challenge we are facing.

What Keeps You Up At Night When It Comes To Some Of The Major Predicaments In The Healthcare Industry?

Today, we are seeing a shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs) in the industry. In the Atlanta area specifically, we are seeing PCPs leave practices, which shifts patients to the providers that remain, impacting their already packed schedules. At the same time, it has been difficult to find new PCPs, especially internists who are trained to deal with the sickest and most complex outpatients, to expand our practice and replace retiring physicians.

We have found that advanced practice practitioners (APPs) are extremely qualified and are great additions to our practices. By leveraging more APPs, more primary care practices have been able to navigate the constantly evolving healthcare landscape and economic climate. That said, we are still working on educating patients on the qualifications of APPs and there is more work to be done here.

Can You Tell Us About The Latest Project That You Have Been Working On And What Are Some Of The Technological And Process Elements That You Leveraged To Make The Project Successful?

Recently, we started integrating clinical research into our practice. Working with a clinical research partner, we have been able to run clinical trials in our practice and give our patients access to the most cutting-edge diagnostic tools and treatment options.

In order to do this, we have had to leverage our EMRs and technology even more and invest time and resources to train physicians on the technologies required to implement these trials. Using our existing EMRs and technology, we can identify and reach out to patients that may be interested in participating in a clinical trial. We can also use our electronic tools to more easily alert physicians when there is a trial that may interest one of their patients and share information about clinical trials. If a patient is interested, we can also get them enrolled more quickly and efficiently as we are able to allow the physician to refer them from their EMR. We have found that patients truly trust their doctors and tend to be more open to considering participating in clinical trials when they receive outreach directly from their doctor.

By integrating clinical research into our practice, we are also bringing clinical trials out of the big academic research centers and to community practices like ours, which have been largely excluded from trials in the past due to proximity and lack of access to trials. This kind of activity can help diversify trials, provide better data, and bring to market well-researched medications and tools for treatment and diagnosis.

What Are Some Of The Technological Trends Which Excite You For The Future Of The Healthcare Industry?

The expansion of AI in healthcare is very exciting. Providers must manage a large amount of administrative work in their day-to-day, often spending hours searching and analyzing data, reviewing incoming information on patients, and trying to gather information from other healthcare providers. This can become even more challenging when you consider the workforce shortage issues we’re seeing today. AI can help quickly gather this information and streamline workflows, alleviating the administrative burden for providers.