VirtuCare

Based on my experience in rural healthcare, there's an alarming trend that's headed toward an inevitable implosion if we don't start innovating. Humor me. Rural hospitals are struggling to recruit physicians. Especially specialists. <10% of urologists are practicing in rural America. Rural hospitals have 1 or 2 urologists who are nearing retirement OR Younger urologists who can't keep up with 10+ days of call a month AND a full clinic AND a full OR schedule. So ultimately they burn out and leave. Recruitment is a struggle. Ultimately the service line is lost. Revenue shrinks ... rinse and repeat ... rural hospital closes. Where do those rural patients go? Some will travel to the regional medical center. Most will delay care until it's an emergency and then get transferred. Then the "big city" docs, who are also at capacity, are taking countless phone calls from the transfer center and ER from this new influx of patients. At some point, "big city" docs reach a breaking point and they leave medicine. Remember, many 4th year medical students have already decided that they will not be taking care of patients (40% by one recent study). So the cavalry isn't coming. No docs > sick patients delaying care > implosion of U.S. healthcare system. May I offer an alternative outcome? Rural hospital partners with VirtuCare to deliver hybrid urology coverage. Remember that physician who left full-time medicine? They work for VirtuCare now. In the clinic, they partner with nurse practitioners or PAs to see patients via telemedicine. They travel periodically to rural hospitals to ease the backlog of surgical cases. Rural urologists now have the best partner they could ask for: 1. We don't take up space or resources. 2. We see the patients you don't have time to see. 3. We give you a break. The best part? We can deliver this in under 4 months from today. And you can continue your recruiting efforts (but if we're honest, the odds of landing another 24/7 urologist in your community is pretty low). Now rural America can keep care local. Keep your physicians from burning out. And keep the healthcare system from imploding. Sound too good to be true? It isn't. We've been doing it for years. This picture I painted is an inevitable crisis IF we don't start making changes. Physicians and hospital executives must put aside what they WANT in an ideal world, and focus on a deliverable solution that they NEED. Otherwise, who's going to take care of patients when there aren't enough docs? #ruralhealthcare #innovation #truthbomb #ruralhealthcareexecutives #physicians #urology #telemedicine #healthcareexecutives #hospitalceo

Words matter. In my decades-long career in healthcare administration, two words drove my patient-centered actions: ACCESS and FLOW. You can only flow patients through the healthcare system if they?have access. Do you know what prevents patient access and flow from starting? It's a simple?yet disheartening truth: the shortage of physicians willing to work in our current healthcare system is a pressing issue that directly impacts patient access. Many physicians and surgeons?who are still passionate about clinical medicine are leaving W-2 employment and thriving in part-time contract positions. These are not Locum Tenens positions; they are long-term contract positions that provide clinical stability for hospitals and patients throughout the US. Yet, physician migration away from W-2 roles poses a significant risk to the clinical stability of hospitals that are?unwilling to?adapt. Instead of waiting for full-time W-2 physician vacancies to fill miraculously, hospitals must proactively embrace new care delivery models. Until then, innovative hospital leaders will thrive while others struggle to maintain safe clinical programs. No pun intended, but access and flow are why I support VirtuCare - a hybrid urology model providing telehealth and on-site surgical care in rural hospitals. Healthcare with a heart starts with access. ?? #surgery #patientaccess #ruralhospitals #innovativecaredelivery #telehealth #hybridcare #urology #healthcareonlinkedin

Hospital CEOs and CFOs love data and ROI. Patients love access to safe and timely care near home. Care teams love engaged and satisfied patients. Communities love financially viable hospitals. I was part of a productive strategy session with the VirtuCare leadership team yesterday. Here is one of the takeaways that we celebrated: "The financial benefits of the VirtuCare model are significant. A CEO of a national hospital system with locations in nine states reported reduced cost of care and increased volume and revenue since implementing the VirtuCare model for urology. The CEO reported, "Who would have thought that not employing a full-time urologist would provide high-level surgical care by board-certified urologists for more than 95% of the cases and increase our ambulatory procedures and surgical volume in the OR?" We have many of these testimonials from executives working hard to meet the needs of patients in their communities and stay solvent. Yet, we often hear from hospital executives that rural and CAH hospitals with long-standing urologist vacancies need 24/7 coverage. In many cases, the vacancy is for their sole urology position. The absence of a urologist often leaves patients without care, leading to delayed treatment or long-distance travel for relief. The VirtuCare model has significantly improved this situation. Once a patient travels outside their community hospital for care, the leakage (no pun intended) is costly as they often lose faith in their local hospital. The job postings for urologists grow daily, and turnover is high. The hybrid model of care provided by VirtuCare is like a JIT inventory system; care optimization, standardization, seamless coordination, and no waste. I love these conversations with hospital executives as a former hospital and medical group leader and patient advocate. I am happy to talk to anyone interested in the VirtuCare surgical model. ?? #surgicalservices #patientaccess #ruralhospitals #urology #innovativecaredelivery #physicianretention #moralinjury #healthcareonlinkedin #content

VirtuCare continues to grow. We are #hiring again. This time . . . a teleurologist. What's that? A urologist who works from the comfort of his/her home. Focusing on teaching and being kind instead of charting and clicking buttons. Know any exceptional urologists who might be interested? We offer referral bonuses if you send us a candidate who decides to work with us. #urology #urologists #telemedicine #telehealth #locums #healthcarejobs