Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Smith and Frederic Goldman.
Jonathan and Frederic, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
We opened Wayland Personal Physicians in April, 2017. We previously practiced primary care together and we were employed by a hospital-owned and operated internal medicine practice.
Over time, in our prior practice, it became difficult to give each patient the time and attention that they deserved and that we wanted to give to them. Higher patient volumes resulted in less time available to spend with each patient which led to a “treadmill effect.” We felt pressure to work faster to keep up with the volume of visits that were in demand. We were also so busy that we did not have the time available to see patients when they wanted to see us. These factors, coupled with increasing pressures from insurance companies and other outside forces, led us to open our own concierge, or membership-style, medical practice.
In our new model, patient volume is much lower. Our practice is limited to roughly 350 patients per physician in comparison to our prior patient panel that exceeded 2,000 patients per doctor. In our new practice, appointment times are much longer and we have more availability to see our own patients when people are not feeling well, including on the same day or the next day.
In our practice, we strive to provide the level of care that we would want for our own families. Our new practice allows for us to provide more comprehensive care by taking a more active role in prevention and in creating individualized, tailored plans to meet each patient’s specific healthcare needs and goals. We also work with each patient to help the patient achieve and maintain those goals. In addition, the patient has the ability to speak with us via video conferencing and to reach us outside of office hours, including on weekends and in the evening. For example, should a patient not feel well and is unsure of whether he/she needs to go to the emergency department or wait to see their doctor the next day, the patient can make that decision together with their doctor. We are also available to speak with the patient’s emergency department doctor or hospitalist if a patient is admitted to the hospital.
Prior to opening Wayland Personal Physicians, there were no options for this type of medical practice in Wayland. Many people from Wayland and the surrounding Metro-West communities would travel to Brookline or Boston for concierge medical care. We felt that it was well overdue to have the option of concierge care closer to home available to our community.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Having started our practice from scratch – as we did not join another group or larger corporation – it was a challenge to find the right phone system, computer system and suppliers that were the right fit for our patient’s needs.
We also built and designed our office space. We wanted to provide a start of the art, modern office for our patients that provided a comfortable setting for patients to receive excellent medical care. We experienced many challenges relative to the time it took to complete the project, which resulted in having temporary office space in Wellesley. The construction of our new space is now complete and we are very happy to be in our new “home” now!
Please tell us about Wayland Personal Physicians.
As a concierge internal medicine practice, we value in depth care for our patients, and we work with each patient individually to identify and achieve their health and wellness goals. We recognize that people do not always enjoy going to their doctor’s office. We are working to change that sentiment by providing a comfortable environment with “patient friendly” service. We work to coordinate care with patients’ specialists, to assist with arranging appointments and to provide close follow up to our patients and their medical needs. We also have the time to get to know who our patients are, rather than only treating their medical conditions.
We decided to establish Wayland Personal Physicians as an independent practice, rather than joining a national concierge medicine organization, which allows us to operate in the way that we see best for our patients. We are affiliated with several referral networks, including the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, The Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham and the Newton Wellesley Hospital. Many medical practices are limited to one referral network; however, as an independent practice, we have the flexibility to refer our patients to whichever specialists we and the patients feel are most appropriate for the patient, regardless of network affiliation.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If we were to “do it over again,” we would have commenced the construction, build-out and design of our practice earlier as these tasks took longer than anticipated.
Contact Info:
- Address: Wayland Personal Physicians
109 Andrew Avenue, Suite 203
Wayland, MA 01778 - Website: www.waylandpersonalphysicians.com
- Phone: 508-358-3300
- Email: info@wppmed.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WaylandPersonalPhysicians/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wayland-personal-physicians-wayland
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