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THE L ARGEST INDEPENDENT medica l g roup in Nor theast Ohio is sti l l g row ing strong — in physicia n members a nd clinica l sites. Built a round a prima r y ca re core, Unity Hea lth Network currently includes more tha n 130 providers at over 33 locations in four counties: Summit, Sta rk, Medina a nd Por tage. That 's a n impressive footprint. Equa lly impressive is the fact that Unit y physicia ns collectively ca re for nea rly 200,000 patients a nnua lly. " Un it y st a r ted sma l l w it h t wo g roups, 2 4 physicia ns, providing prima r y ca re for approximately 59,000 patients at eight locations," explains Jose Rafecas, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine specia list a nd Boa rd Member of Unit y Hea lt h Net work. "But as the benef its of collaboration beca me increasingly appa rent to our peers, more independent physicia ns and sma ll medica l groups in our com- munit y joined the practice." Today, Unity is not only the la rgest independent group in Northeast Ohio, it is the third la rgest in the state. IMPROVING PATIENT CARE R ober t Kent , DO, FACOI, is a pr i- mar y care physician and President of Unit y Hea lth Network. "Severa l yea rs ago, my colleag ues a nd I recog nized a trou- bling trend in hea lth ca re: continua lly declining physicia n reimbursement pa ired w it h increa sing costs to practice medicine," he expla ins. " We rea lized that in the nea r future sma ller g roups a nd single physicia n practices would have dif f icu lt y ma inta ining a hig h level of patient ca re whi le concur rent ly work ing to satisf y t he ex pensive a nd time- consuming ma ndates of hea lthca re reform." Th is rea li zation wa s not a prom isi ng scena r io for t he lon g-t er m success of qua l it y hea lt h ca re, especia l ly for independent physicia ns who were especia l ly cha l lenged by i ncrea sed gover n ment reg u la- tions a nd the A f fordable Ca re Act. A s a resu lt , i n 2012 , t wo pr i ma r y ca re g roups ca me together to form Unit y Hea lthy Network. Their goa l wa s to unite physicia ns a nd a llied healthcare providers to offer patients a broader a nd more accessible level of care while empowering physicians to focus more on their patients a nd less on paper work. " We recog nized that hea lthca re deliver y needed to cha nge a nd our pla n wa s to lead that cha nge," says Kev in Mineo, MD, a n interna l medicine specia list a nd Medica l Director of Unit y Hea lth Net work. " Leading this cha nge mea ns being more focused on qua lit y a nd controlling costs. Unit y 's leadership team continues to develop performance programs to enhance the qua lity care that we provide to our patients. In turn, this is lowering our hea lthcare expenditures while improving patient outcomes, which is a high priorit y for a ll of our insurers." A nd whi le the Unit y physicia ns worked to ensure their orga nization wa s desig ned to adapt to cha nge, t hey a lso worked to ensure their members would ma inta in the vita l physicia n-patient relationship. " The perception, a nd unfor tunately too of ten the rea lit y, is that hea lthca re decision-ma king is overly bureaucratic," says Dr. Kent. " That is not what we do. Medica l professiona ls continue to be drawn to Unity Hea lth Network because in our orga nization there a re only two people involved in clinica l decision-ma king: the physicia n a nd the patient." EQUIPPING PHYSICIANS TO SUCCEED Unit y a lso equips its physicia ns w it h t he latest in inno- vat ive pra c t ice m a n a gement t ech nolog ies , i nclud i n g a state-of-the-a r t electronic medica l records system a nd a Ca re Coordination Center. Implemented in 2015, the Ca re Jose Rafecas, MD, Board Member, Unity Health Network Robert Kent, DO, FACOI, President, Unity Health Network PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNITY HEALTH NETWORK Continues to Expand BY JO DONOFRIO Unity Health Network 1 8 1 8P R A C T I C E S P O T L I G H T