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PHYSICIAN
PRACTICES
PHYSICIAN PRACTICES
WellMed Medical Group
By Mike W. Thomas
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of articles for San Antonio Medicine
that will look at local physician practice groups.
CARLOS HERNANDEZ, MD RICHARD WHITTAKER, MD SUSAN LEE, MD
Since 2002, WellMed Medical Group has grown exponentially, Hernandez says fee-for-value will be the wave of the future in
from a single clinic in San Antonio to more than 200 across Texas healthcare if we are ever going to get a handle on rising costs.
and Florida, and now has plans to open more clinics in Indiana and
Ohio. “The cost of healthcare in the U.S. is more expensive than any-
where else,” Hernandez said. “The outcomes are worse too, because
Today, WellMed has more than 5,000 primary care and specialist we charge for technology, not outcomes. Where it is going now,
locations and more than 12,000 providers in its network serving everyone is tired of paying for care that doesn’t deliver good results.”
more than 310,000 patients annually.
Richard Whittaker, MD, chief medical officer for WellMed Med-
What is the secret to that successful growth? Carlos Hernandez, ical Group, said a culture of taking care of the whole patient is at
MD, president of WellMed, says it is due to their focus on the senior the core of their success. Making sure all the physicians that join
population dependent on Medicare and a company philosophy that WellMed are immersed in that culture is key to continuing that suc-
adheres to providing “fee for value” rather than “fee for service.” cess in the future, he adds.
“The fee-for-service model is fragmented,” Hernandez said. “It is “We look for people who fit our values,” he said. “Everyone goes
uncoordinated and expensive.” through behavioral-based training. It’s a robust onboarding process
that takes one-to-two weeks. It’s important to get a good fit from
The fee-for-value model, by contrast, is set up to provide rewards the beginning so that there is a low-rate of turnover. Training is a
for doing the right thing, not just for doing something, he said. significant investment in the value-based care model.”
“We get paid for taking care of our patients, not for providing a Whittaker said the market is very competitive right now for hiring
service,” he said. good people out of medical school so they must offer an excellent
benefits package to capture the best candidates.
At WellMed, the primary care physicians are playing quarterback
and directing all of the patient’s care, Hernandez said. That way the Doctors who work at WellMed should like working in teams and
patients get the right care at the right time for the right reasons. This, collaborating with colleagues when treating patients. If they don’t
ultimately, is less expensive with no duplicative testing and provides like structure, then this may not be the place for them. Here, they
better results, he says.
36 San Antonio Medicine • October 2017
