By: Katelyn Bush
A Healthcare Headache
Picture this: You’re a forty-five-year-old plan member who’s been dealing with chronic migraines for the past few years. Initially, you went to your family physician, who prescribed you medication to help manage your symptoms. After a few months, though, your headaches return. Your family physician refers you to several specialists, including a neurologist and a pain management expert.
Now, instead of finding relief, you’re faced with a new challenge: each specialist has their own treatment plan. The neurologist offers a different medication, while the pain management expert suggests alternative therapies and lifestyle changes. To make matters worse, these specialists don’t always share information with each other, resulting in repeated tests and contradictory advice. (Talk about a healthcare headache.)
This scenario is all too familiar to those of us in the healthcare space. Without cohesive primary care, patients can spend hours on the phone setting up appointments and re-explaining their situation to specialists. This not only adds to patients’ stress, but also drives up healthcare costs. “When primary care isn’t the focus, more services—ranging from specialty referrals to non-formulary prescriptions—are unnecessarily outsourced, leading to higher costs and fragmented care,” says Jeremy VanderKnyff, Chief Integration and Informatics Officer at Proactive MD. Indeed, with all this confusion around where to receive care, it’s no wonder many of us spend more than we need to on basic procedures. It’s like navigating a maze without a map!
Bringing Power Back to Primary Care
Enter John Collier, founder and CEO of Proactive MD. Collier saw firsthand how fragmented primary care often left patients feeling lost and overwhelmed, with outsourced services contributing to rising costs and subpar health outcomes. That’s why he set out to restore primary care to its rightful place as the cornerstone of a patient’s healthcare experience.
"Healthcare is fundamentally broken. By prioritizing Patient Advocacy and primary care, we can restore humanity to healthcare and provide better outcomes at a lower cost," Collier explains.
So, how does Proactive MD tackle the problem of fragmented care? Rather than outsourcing patients to expensive specialists for every issue, Proactive MD focuses on providing a full spectrum of care within their own Health Centers. This ensures patients receive consistent and personalized care from a dedicated team rather than bouncing between multiple providers.
But Proactive MD does more than keep care in-house. Here are three ways they ensure care remains top-notch:
Patient Advocacy is at the heart of the Proactive MD approach. Their dedicated Patient Advocates aren’t just a voice on the other end of the phone— they help with everything from managing appointments to coordinating patients’ overall care. Forget having to juggle multiple doctors’ advice; with Proactive MD, patients have one go-to person ensuring everything runs smoothly.
High-touch service is just as crucial to Proactive MD’s success. They take the time to understand what each client needs so they can offer solutions that fit them just right. On the patient side, Proactive MD engages plan members from the get-go, following up personally to ensure all their care is coordinated and comprehensive.
Robust data analytics also play a role. Proactive MD uses their Proactive IQ platform to dive deep into healthcare data. This helps them see the big picture of what’s going on with patients and their needs. With this information, they can create tailored care plans, spot potential problems before they snowball, and ensure that any interventions are right on time.
A Personal Touch: Patti's Story
To see the Proactive MD approach in action, look at Patti’s story. Patti shared how she was initially hesitant to switch primary care physicians. The thought of changing doctors felt daunting, but her experience with Proactive MD quickly changed her mind.
From the moment Patti walked into her new Proactive MD Health Center, she was met with a level of warmth and friendliness that immediately put her at ease. She described the staff as incredibly welcoming, making her feel like more than just another patient. This personal touch was a game-changer for Patti, especially after she suffered a traumatic accident.
What impressed Patti the most about Proactive MD was how they went above and beyond the usual doctor-patient relationship. The team stayed in touch with her "out of pure friendship," showing genuine concern for her well-being. This wasn’t just about providing medical services; it was about offering heartfelt support to a patient during a tough time.
Patti’s story reflects Proactive MD’s Patient Promise: to not just treat patients, but to truly care for them. In a healthcare landscape often characterized by impersonal interactions, Proactive MD's approach is all about "restoring humanity to healthcare" and ensuring that each patient receives the attention and care they deserve.
We are proud to feature Proactive MD on the Granite List.