Cary, North Carolina Feb 18, 2020 (Issuewire.com) - Many of North Carolina’s independent dermatology physician groups have formed a regional collaborative designed to allow them to provide the benefits of a clinically integrated collaboration which include higher efficiency of care, improved quality, more effective delivery, lower costs, and increased savings.
The organization, dubbed the North Carolina Independent Dermatology Collaborative, brings together a very large number of providers of dermatology care spanning the Triangle area of North Carolina. The physicians have built an organization for physicians by physicians that will allow the participating physicians to achieve the advantages of being part of a larger clinically integrated system. Member physician practices will facilitate lowering costs, all while providing high-quality care with the same hometown doctor patients have come to know and trust — all without sacrificing their independence.
The goal of the member physicians is simple: take the best care of their patients, while doing so in an environment that allows them to adapt to and benefit from evolving healthcare models and technology. The North Carolina Independent Dermatology Collaborative allows member groups to unlock the benefits of belonging to a clinically integrated group while preserving the advantages of providing independent, tailored care that each of their patient communities have come to enjoy.
The founding members of the Collaborative in addition to its large general dermatology care base, offer a broad range of dermatology specialties, from Dermatopathology to Pediatric Dermatology and Dermatologic surgery including Mohs surgery to Cosmetic Dermatology and much more.
All told, they estimate they have provided care for more than 250,000 patients in the region. While the group initially involved an exclusive group of independent practices, its administrators say they are actively being asked by additional practices to consider adding new independent dermatology practices and dermatology specialties as members. At present, the collaborative is in discussions with additional sizable practices in the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill areas.
“Can we help independent physicians work together to improve care and lower costs? I believe that physicians working together can do what very few other organizations can do. They can make an immense difference in what matters most – the quality of care for their patients in a value-based environment,” said Parker Eales, administrator of the collaborative. “We’ve been successful, and patients have chosen us for a reason,” Eales said. “They know and feel a difference.” It’s no secret that independent physicians are becoming a rare commodity in the Triangle area with over 75% of physicians now working as hospital employees and many Triangle dermatology practices are now owned, affiliated or managed by private equity investment companies.”
Locally, health systems like the Duke University Health System and the University of North Carolina Hospitals have quietly acquired independent physician practices in their quests to expand their market share. That trend has accelerated in recent years as the health industry, in general, has gravitated toward more value-based arrangements with insurers.
All the large, local health systems have been engaged in value-based arrangements with commercial insurers and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and Mr. Eales believes the same can be done with the independent collaborative. All three hospitals (Duke, UNC, and Wake Med have launched accountable care organizations (ACOs) with various arrangements with some commercial insurers, such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield, etc.
Mr. Eales said the Collaboration will also help the independent physicians boost their quality metrics through the sharing of clinical technology and guidelines (integrated process for strategically managing costs and quality simultaneously) and clinical integration (a health network working together, using proven protocols and technology that enables bidirectional certified and non-certified EHR integration measures) to improve patient care, decrease cost and demonstrate value).
The North Carolina Independent Dermatology Collaborative creates market visibility with insurance providers, health systems, Accountable Care Organizations, patients and vendors, allowing members to develop strategic affiliations that, on their own, they would unlikely be able to create. The collaborative is not only a very viable option for independent physicians, but an organization that recognizes the great value and protection to patients of independent physician controlled medical practice.
For more information about N.C. Independent Dermatology Collaboration, visit https://ncdermcollaboration.com
Media Contact
NC Independent Dermatology Collaboration,LLC mohstv9@gmail.com 9192755268 200 WELLESLEY TRADE LANE https://ncdermcollaboration.com
