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and his colleagues at Spectrum Audiology reached out to patients and the primary care community to determine whether patients would prefer to stay at a PCP's office for audiology services. The answer was an overwhelming "yes." A MEANINGFUL PARTNERSHIP Motivated to improve patients' access to the hea ring ser vices they needed, Mc C r a e c ol l a b or a t e d w it h on e of Spectrum Audiology's lead consultants, Chuck Redepenning. "I had some experience in the primary care area, and when we started talking about providing audiolog y services in those providers' offices, I was immediately for it because I knew a bit about that space," says Redepenning, who is now the President and Chief Executive Officer of PHN. "Doctors would — if we put together the right business model — embrace it and enhance the services they already provide to their patients." In their research of the primary care ma rket versus the ENT ma rket that was already being served by Spectrum Audiolog y, McCrae and Redepenning recognized the oppor tunity to reach patients at what they would ca ll the front lines. "Patients might be reluctant to either go to a new doctor or a retail store to have their hearing tested. They are more likely to want to get everything done at their own doctors' offices," Redepenning says. "It is all about convenience. And in our research, we read many articles from medical associations, including the AMA, which pointed out that the primary care physician needed to do a better job at identifying hearing loss in their patients at that level. Armed with all of this information, we put together a compelling business model and formed PHN." EXPERTISE IN ACTION M a n y d e v e l o p m e n t a n d s a l e s professionals with Spectrum Audiology have shifted their focus to PHN, working to communicate the company's mission w it h P C Ps a nd t o r e cr u it he a r i n g services providers. "It was a nice and easy transition thanks to having Spectrum Audiology in place for four plus years," Redepenning says. "I think that is what makes us very effective. We have come from a position of strength through the ENT space. We were ready and able to adopt a lot of practices that we already had in place." O nb oa r d i n g hea r i n g i n s t r u ment specialists and hearing aid dispensers is one critical objective that PHN has been pursuing. Specifically, these individuals, who are already licensed clinical experts, participate in boot-camp style training to prepare for the type of environment they will encounter in PCP's offices. Once trained, these skilled hearing service providers collaborate with physicians t o prov ide c omprehen sive hea r i n g evaluations inside of each practice. By bringing portable equipment into the clinics and setting up hearing test stations in existing exam rooms, PHN hearing service providers can deliver a turnkey solution to PCPs at no cost to them. "Patients are very comfortable being in the same exam rooms they have visited in the past, with these doctors," McCrae says. "We do not need to set up special areas." Once the equipment is in place, the hearing service providers conduct testing with sound meters to ensure that the rooms STERLING CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY Solutions Near You HE A DQUA RTERED IN SA N A NTONIO, Physicians Hearing Network (PHN) serves several primary care physicians in major Texas metropolitans, including San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. The network of providers also has a strong presence in California, the Southeast and New England, with other providers peppered throughout the central United States and the Pacific Northwest. "Our plan is to be in every state," says Chuck Redepenning, President and Chief Executive Officer of PHN. "We will continue to innovate and find ways to service more primary care physicians over time." M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S S A N A N T O N i O ■ 2 019 0 7