It’s time to face the harsh truth about healthcare in the United States: our system is failing us. Despite spending more per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world, our health outcomes are dismal. We have lower life expectancies, higher hospital admissions, and higher rates of suicide and maternal mortality than our peers in other developed nations. The problem lies in the way our healthcare system is structured, with a focus on treating illnesses rather than preventing them, and a lack of investment in primary care.
Primary care is the foundation of a well-functioning healthcare system, yet it has been consistently undervalued and overlooked. Primary care physicians are the first point of contact for patients, and they play a critical role in coordinating care and ensuring that patients receive the right care at the right time. But our healthcare system has placed an increasing emphasis on specialty care, leaving primary care physicians overworked and underpaid.
To turn things around, we need to shift our focus from reactive, expensive treatment to proactive, preventive care. This requires a renewed commitment to investing in primary care services and valuing the critical role that primary care physicians play in our healthcare system. Investing in independent primary care is not only the right thing to do from a moral perspective, it’s also the smart thing to do from an economic perspective. By investing in primary care, we can reduce healthcare costs in the long run by preventing chronic diseases and reducing hospital admissions. Independent primary care physicians have the potential to deliver better outcomes at a lower cost than the current system, but only if we invest in them and give them the resources they need to succeed.
Many primary care practices face another challenge: maintaining their independence from large corporations such as CVS and Walgreens. In recent years, these retail giants have begun to expand their healthcare services, including the acquisition of primary care practices. This trend has raised concerns about the impact of corporate ownership on the quality of care and patient outcomes. Research has shown that independent primary care practices consistently outperform corporate-owned practices in several key areas, including patient satisfaction, quality of care, and management of chronic conditions. Independent practices are more likely to engage in patient-centered care and provide comprehensive, coordinated services that address not only medical but also social and behavioral factors that impact health.
By contrast, corporate-owned practices may prioritize profit over patient needs, leading to a focus on volume-based care rather than quality outcomes. Furthermore, the acquisition of primary care practices by retail giants raises concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest. These corporations may be more interested in selling products and services than providing high-quality, patient-centered care. Patients may be pressured to use the corporation’s pharmacy or other services, even if they are not the most appropriate or cost-effective option.
Given these concerns, it is crucial to support the independence of primary care practices. But how?
Management services organizations (MSOs) can play a critical role in helping PCPs maintain their independence while transitioning to a value-based care model. These MSOs can invest financial and other resources into independent practices, moving physicians away from the fee-for-service model and toward a focus on health outcomes. By building collaborative networks of independent practices, MSOs can help providers deliver the very best care for patients and align practice economics with patient health outcomes.
MSOs can provide primary care physicians with the operational, technical, and peer support that they need to deliver high-quality primary care and better health outcomes more efficiently and effectively to their communities. By offering access to cutting-edge technology, tools, and processes that ease administrative burdens, MSOs can empower PCPs to accelerate their transition to a value-based care model. This enables PCPs to remain independent while still being able to offer comprehensive and coordinated care to their patients.
Investing in independent primary care is essential to creating a healthcare system that values prevention, coordination, and patient-centered care. By providing support for independent primary care physicians, we can ensure that they have the tools and resources they need to provide high-quality care and improve health outcomes in their communities.
The time has come to take a hard look at our healthcare system and make the changes necessary to improve the health outcomes of Americans. Investing in independent primary care is a critical step in the right direction. By providing support for independent primary care physicians, we can ensure that they have the tools and resources they need to provide high-quality, patient-centered care and improve health outcomes for all.
By Eric Lisle, CEO, President, and Co-Founder at Southeast Primary Care Partners (SPCP)
About the Author:
Eric Lisle is co-founder and chief executive officer at Southeast Primary Care Partners (SPCP), a primary care-focused management services organization dedicated to achieving true value-based care everywhere. With a history of executive leadership roles at some of the country’s largest and most influential healthcare organizations, Eric has a finger on the pulse of the industry, and an understanding of what’s needed next and how to get there. Under his leadership, SPCP has expanded its footprint across the Southeast, growing to 125 providers and 588 employees, and ending 2022 with over 300,000 patient visits and a total of 18,000 value-based lives.
Eric is a well-known figure in the industry, having spoken at the Medical Association of Georgia, the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, and a number of podcasts and webcasts dedicated to building effective provider networks, bringing high-quality care to high-needs and rural areas, challenges and opportunities for the management service organization field, and more.
Prior to co-founding Southeast Primary Care Partners, Eric was executive vice president of development at Optum, where he implemented strategies to address rising costs and oversaw M&A, strategic partnerships and both ACO and CIN initiatives. Eric was also a chief executive officer of PA Health & Wellness (Centene Corporation). Before joining Centene, he held leadership roles at both Highmark Health, and Humana (Tricare). Eric served his country as a Medical Service Corps Officer in the U.S. Air Force for more than 20 years.