Check out Elation’s new blog: The Practice

Why do independent physicians do what they do? And how do they do it successfully? We’re exploring the in-depth stories of providers who are committed to providing quality care while remaining independent. Elation’s new blog, The Practice, tells the story of a nurse practitioner, a doctor who is also a cartoonist, and many more.

We bring you feature stories in The Practice that go deeper than what one might expect from a profile on a doctor, then even deeper still, peeling back layers to uncover the meaningful “why” behind their commitment to the craft of independent primary care medicine.

We invite you to read these inspiring stories of independent primary care physicians on our site and on Medium:

• As a nurse practitioner, Veronica Pike spent years working for a large health system and then a small primary care practice that specialized in traveling to patients’ homes. She understood the need to care for patients who lived off the beaten path, the forgotten. Pike has launched two healthcare practices, including her current UltraPersonal Healthcare. She also established the American Academy of Nurse Entrepreneurs, a group that helps advanced practice nurses go into business.
• Dr. Natalia Southerland is the owner of Brand New Med, an independent family practice in Waxahachie, Texas, a small town just beyond the southern suburbs of Dallas. Her values make her a perfect provider of direct primary care (DPC), the healthcare model where the priorities are independently set by physicians without oversight from medical administrators. She sees her journey as one that was always leading to an independent practice. Every day, she lives in alignment with her values, and it shows; her patients can’t speak highly enough of her practice.
• In Fredericksburg, Virginia, readers of the local newspaper, the Free Lance-Star, are entertained weekly by their neighborhood physician. Steven Mussey, M.D., clearly enjoys the creative release in his comic strip Adverse Reaction, which he’s been writing and illustrating since 2002. Massey explains that “I find what I’m really angry about in the medical scene, and there’s usually something kind of funny about it. Then you feel that you’ve spoken your mind, so you don’t become a grumpy old man.” He adds, “I do think you need to keep a hobby that you love and try to be a doctor who you would want to go see.”
• A patient’s physician, Dr. Roger Kimura’s independent primary care practice is geared more around patients than maximizing profits. Believing he was destined to become an engineer early in life, Dr. Kimura found that he loved being around and helping people more. Now, 36 years into practicing medicine in Honolulu, Dr. Kimura can hardly imagine doing anything else. “Ultimately, it’s about service,” Dr. Kimura notes. “The patient may not always be right, but the patient always comes first.”

Just as these independent healthcare providers are dedicated to their practice and their patients, the team at Elation Health is deeply committed to strengthening the physician-patient relationship and enabling phenomenal care for everyone through our ClinicalFirst EHR. We are focused on helping independent providers transform the delivery of healthcare itself.