Strength in Numbers

BCD was formed to improve care delivery and quality, gain efficiencies of scale, and reduce costs.

Financially, bigger is proving better for BCD, said Dr. Jill Stoller, group president. Revenue has increased across the board, she said, and cost sharing among care centers has reduced monthly operating expenses. BCD’s size and leadership has also attracted the attention of New Jersey’s largest Blue Cross/Blue Shield network, which has asked the group to help develop and pilot its new Patient-Centered Medical Home program. BCD will likely find similar opportunities, given its enhanced visibility, Dr. Stoller added.

Dr. Daniel Schwartz, of BCD’s Broadway Pediatrics Care Center, has called the merger a “no-lose proposition.” Dr. Schwartz, who also serves as the group’s resident technology liaison, said BCD’s centralized business and technology structure has allowed each practice to make improvements, from website enhancement to EHR adoption, that otherwise would have been difficult or impossible to achieve. What’s more, larger groups, in general, are in a better position to research, buy and implement required technology, such as EHR systems.

Practice mergers can also be the answer for physicians disillusioned by the demands of a changing health care environment. Increasingly, doctors are disappointed with medical practice and pessimistic about the future of their profession, according to a physician survey released in 2012 by the Physicians Foundation.

Eighty-two percent of physicians surveyed agree that the medical profession is in decline, the report said. The majority of these physicians (which include practice owners) identify “too much regulation/paperwork” as the most important factor in the profession’s decline. They also cited “loss of clinical autonomy,” “physicians not compensated for quality,” and “erosion of the physician/patient relationship” as factors.

BCD’s Dr. Stoller argues that a well-planned merger can provide the profession with a shot in the arm, bringing together like-minded doctors who can work as a group to face today’s health care challenges.

“A group without walls, or a larger group, is a way to fight back against all that government intrusion and changing HIPAA standards and regulations,” Dr. Stoller said. “Centralizing a core business center allows a doctor to do more doctoring.”

Said Dr. Craig: “Not only has joining BCD allowed us to retain our independence, I can now focus on fewer issues. I no longer have to deal with insurance contracts, health insurance or malpractice, and I can definitely spend more time just taking care of patients.”