By: Proactive MD
Across the nation, provider shortages are alarmingly pervasive. This is especially true for rural areas and those lacking substantial healthcare infrastructure to support access to care for growing populations. Coupled with an already flawed system, the scarcity of both providers and access to quality care poses a critical dilemma that demands a better solution.
At Proactive MD, we prioritize providing access to comprehensive, high-quality care that eliminates the heavy toll of inadequate healthcare access on communities and revitalizes the once barren healthcare desert into an abundant ecosystem of care. From our success in Indiana, a state with among the highest healthcare costs in the country, to our expansion throughout our home state of South Carolina, we’ve implemented a solution that accounts for each need, all while keeping patients at the center where they belong.
The Value of Comprehensive Care
At Proactive MD, we go beyond the traditional boundaries of primary care by offering comprehensive services that address up to 80% of all healthcare needs at each of our Health Centers. With services encompassing acute care, preventive care, chronic condition management, Patient Advocacy, and onsite medication dispensing and labs, our care is intentionally comprehensive in a multitude of ways.
Our robust services allow patients to receive convenient and affordable care within the Health Center, when they would otherwise seek those same services in the community—running the risk of costlier, disjointed care. By keeping as much of our patients’ care within the Health Center as we can, it not only ensures continuity of care and accuracy of medical records but, most importantly, it fosters and prioritizes a relationship in which our patients receive compassionate care from a provider who knows them by name, is familiar with their medical history, and has ample time to dedicate to their personalized care.
Addressing the Provider Shortage
The Association of American Medical Colleges’ 2021 study, The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2019 to 2034, predicts a shortage of primary care physicians of between 17,800 and 48,000 by 2034. The provider shortage in the United States is fueled by a combination of factors, including an aging population with increasing healthcare needs, a retiring physician workforce, challenges in training and education, regional disparities in access to care, and the growing prevalence of chronic conditions increasing the demand for medical care.
At Proactive MD, we confront these challenges head-on when it comes to staffing our Health Centers with the right providers. We actively search for providers who want to practice medicine the way they trained—getting to know their patients and offering holistic, value-based care that prioritizes the health outcomes of each patient rather than feeling the pressures of a healthcare system that incentivizes volume over quality. Our providers are empowered to practice at the top of their scope and have longer appointment times to address each patient’s needs extensively. With smaller patient panels, onsite medication dispensing and labs, and a dedicated care team, Proactive MD providers can offer wide-ranging healthcare services all within the walls of the Health Center. When a referral is needed, providers are equipped with the tools and network necessary to ensure that their patients receive the best care possible, rather than the closest care available.
At Proactive MD, we hire skilled professionals who are proven to put patients first and are motivated by our model of care. This is why we especially enjoy engaging both with graduating physicians who want the opportunity to serve patients with robust primary care without first having to become disillusioned by the “treat ‘em and street ‘em” mentality that has become pervasive throughout healthcare, as well as veteran providers seeking a return to the way healthcare should be practiced. In our locations throughout Indiana and South Carolina, we’ve seen success in providing best-in-class care to rural and underserved areas that have little to no access to primary care services or facilities. By equipping qualified providers with the tools they need to practice broad-scope care and working with populations that often have the greatest healthcare need, we have proudly introduced transformative care to hundreds of thousands of deserving individuals and families—and we’re not stopping there.
Bridging Healthcare Gaps with Statewide Networks
In our experience, ensuring available, comprehensive care is only one part of addressing the problem of insufficient care access. At Proactive MD, we like to provide multiple options for care because we understand that areas which are rural or already lacking in healthcare infrastructure also commonly result in people working far from where they live. When healthcare needs arise, they are often immediate, and people need care options as dispersed as they are. We’ve seen great success with statewide healthcare networks in Indiana and have replicated that tried-and-true model across the state of South Carolina. By providing a statewide network, patients have dedicated healthcare coverage expanded across the state, as well as consistency in care that they would otherwise lack if they utilized a facility outside the network. Because we have such high standards for our care practices, patients can confidently visit our statewide network of locations and trust that they will receive the same level of compassionate, comprehensive care they would get in any Proactive MD Health Center.
Another facet of a statewide network is the ability to partner with health plans across the state. This allows for a wider reach of care and ensures that more patients, regardless of how they are splayed throughout the state, have multiple options for receiving primary care. In Indiana, we currently serve approximately 40,000 patients across the state with a network that ensures patients in both rural and metropolitan areas receive the same first-class primary care. In our home state of South Carolina, we’ve introduced the same model to great success. We now serve almost 25,000 patients in South Carolina, and that number is only growing. We have locations spanning the Upstate, Midlands, Lowcountry, and Pee Dee regions, and we’re excited to announce additional locations throughout the state opening later this year, including Myrtle Beach and the burgeoning Florence area.
Continuing our Commitment to Accessible Care
Proactive MD remains steadfast in our mission to address the pressing healthcare challenges facing our communities. By focusing on building strong provider-patient relationships, offering comprehensive services within our Health Centers, and establishing statewide networks, we strive to ensure that every individual receives the care they need, regardless of their location or circumstance. We invite you to join us on our mission to remain at the forefront of healthcare innovation and create a healthier future where quality care is accessible to all, leaving no one behind.
If you are a provider or clinical worker looking for the chance to practice broad-scope care and put patients first, check out our careers page here: https://proactive-md.com/careers/.
If you are seeking high-quality, accessible care for yourself, your family, or your small business, please reach out to us here: https://proactive-md.com/dpc/.
Let's work hand in hand to improve healthcare accessibility and shape a healthier future.
For more information, please contact us at info@proactive.md or visit https://www.proactive.md.
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