With the advent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many physician practices have decided to hold off on expanding their businesses until they see how the new rules and regulations pan out. One exception to this is Pediatric Associates, which began expanding its reach in the Florida market three years ago—and shows no signs of stopping.

 

“Back in 2011, we began to realize that dramatic changes were in place for health care, and that new reimbursement models and government mandates were going to move us to a different way of delivering care to the user,” explained Pediatric Associates CEO Peter J. Shulman, M.D., MBA. “This change amounted to a major paradigm shift in physician reimbursement models with an emphasis on efficiency, affordability and access for patients. Now the focus is on managing a population of patients and keeping them well.”

 

To this end, Pediatric Associates has implemented disease management programs in their practice, with case managers in each of its 35 locations providing counseling to patients on issues ranging from attention deficit disorder (ADD), to nutrition and obesity, and asthma. Pediatric Associates has also expanded its office hours in many locations from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. 365 days a year. “By doing this, we are keeping our patients out of emergency rooms, which enables us to provide better continuity of care,” said Dr. Shulman.

 

This formula has enabled Pediatric Associates to quickly expand throughout Florida. “In 2012, we made the decision to break out of our comfort zone,” said Dr. Shulman. “We’d been serving South Florida for the past 50-plus years, and decided to expand our model of care, our brand, if you will, to other areas of the state.”

 

In 2013, Pediatric Associates partnered with two practices in Brandon, FL, to expand their reach in the Tampa Bay area. They then acquired Palm Harbor Pediatrics, P.A., which has two locations in New Port Richey and Palm Harbor, FL, in 2014.

 

In addition, Pediatric Associates will acquire Jacksonville Pediatric Associates this month and enter a market where they have had no presence thus far. This new acquisition consists of three locations in downtown Jacksonville, South Jacksonville and Neptune Beach. “The most important thing we look for before partnering with a practice is cultural fit and chemistry,” said Dr. Shulman.

 

In addition to selecting physicians who practice quality medicine, Pediatric Associates also chooses to work with, rather than against, insurance companies. “Back in the 1970s, when many physicians wanted no part of HMOs, we had forward-thinking leaders who participated early on and learned how to navigate the bureaucracy of managed care,” said Dr. Shulman. “We got a significant head start by working collaboratively with managed care companies. We never saw payors as adversaries. If it works for us, it should work for them.”