Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1207470
Physicians Hearing network AFFECTING APPROXIMATELY 50 million A mer ica ns, hea r i ng loss of ten goes undetected until it has a significant and negative effect on qua lity of life. The hearing professionals at PHN are on a mission to shift the narrative. The San Antonio-based company, which launched in January 2019, is designed to provide patients with convenient access to free audiology and hearing aid services by delivering them inside the practices of qualified primary care physicians. P H N Fo u n d e r W i l l i a m M c C r a e developed t he idea whi le ma na g ing h i s o t h e r e n t e r p r i s e , S p e c t r u m Audiology. A company that operates in the otola r y ngolog y space, Spectr um A ud iolo g y s er ve s a s a n a ud iolo g y services provider within the offices of ENT specialty groups. However, McCrae recognized that there was room for that business model to grow and evolve. "Over the years, as we were becoming more familiar with health care in general and the needs of those who are seeking care in regard to their hearing, we saw a number of things occurring," McCrae says. "One is t hat our pr ima r y ca re physicians did not have the resources to provide testing or consultation to patients who were asking them for guidance or consultation regarding their hearing loss. Generally those patients were being referred to an ENT." According to McCrae, the referra ls were not always the best use of patients' resources. Roughly 10% of hearing loss is the result of a medical condition that requires treatment, but ma ny of the patients he encountered experienced hearing loss induced by age or noise. " The hea ring loss could have been tested and diagnosed at a primary care physician's office," McCrae says. "And if the patient wanted, it could have been treated there, as well." To further investigate the best way to meet the needs of these patients, McCrae Revolutionizing Where Patients access Hearing Healthcare Services BY K ATY MENA-BERKLEY PHYSiCiANS HEARiNG NETWORK (PHN) iS THE ONLY PROGRAM OF iTS KiND, OFFERiNG iNNOVATiVE AUDiOLOGY AND HEARiNG AiD SERViCES WiTHiN THE OFFiCE SPACE OF PRiMARY CARE PROViDERS THROUGHOUT THE UNiTED STATES. 0 6❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y