A powerful new collaborative of South Carolina’s independent doctors is restoring physician autonomy, reducing costs, and elevating patient care. The Physicians Collaborative (TPC) is “a physician-led, member-driven cooperative of independent doctors across South Carolina,” said Jeff Powell, president of Integral Leaders in Health and one of TPC’s founders. “By uniting, independent physicians benefit from shared resources, business infrastructure, clinical integration tools, and collective bargaining strength.” In essence, TPC members are proving that independent doesn’t mean alone.
Over the past two decades, hospitals across South Carolina — and much of the nation — have increasingly acquired independent physician practices, employing providers and staff. What was initially framed as a move toward greater efficiency and coordinated care has, in many cases, led to more complexity in coordinated care, higher costs, and a growing sense of disconnect between doctors and the patients they serve. Physicians often found themselves spending more time navigating administrative demands than engaging with the patients they trained to serve. Meanwhile, patients noticed shorter visits, longer wait times, and a frustrating lack of continuity in their care.
Dr. Spence M. Taylor, another TPC founder and a nationally recognized academic physician leader with 30 years of experience as a senior executive, surgeon, full professor, and researcher.
Joining TPC is joining a powerful movement. Physicians who join also:
✓ Establish their autonomy and clinical decision-making
✓ Gain access to specialized value-based care contracts
✓ Reduce costs with group purchasing power
✓ Tap into employer-sponsored healthcare opportunities
✓ Access cutting-edge clinical technology
Members of TPC have united to reclaim the heart of healthcare: the trusted doctor-patient relationship… Collectively we are leveling the playing field for independent doctors. —Dr. Spence M. Taylor
An early TPC success story is CorVista Health. Before joining TPC, CorVista offered breakthrough technology for serious conditions like pulmonary hypertension. The company’s calcium scoring testing can be done bedside, and it offers more accurate results without the radiation exposure. It also reduces the time that patients spend searching for a correct diagnosis and moves them more quickly to an ideal care pathway. The problem? This emerging technology wasn’t getting into physicians’ hands quickly enough. The solution rested in the mission of TPC.
“We unify independent doctors from all over the state, we vet services like CoreVista’s system, and then those services and other value-based care opportunities reach our members in a one stop shop,” Dr. Taylor explained. “Collectively, we are leveling the playing field for independent doctors.” “TPC is a win-win — for our patients and for members,” Dr. Taylor added. “We are reestablishing the physician voice that was lost because of corporate employment. The physician should always be the primary connection with the patients; they know them and take better care of them.”
The Roots of TPC’s Impressive History
The impressive, explosive history of The Physicians Collaborative began with a book — “Unbalanced -The Evolving Medical Care Crisis,” — authored by Dr. Spence Taylor and Dr. Jerry R. Youkey, founding dean of USC School of Medicine, Greenville. Written to bring awareness to the medical care crisis in America, the book confirms that the foundation of medicine, where patient well-being is no longer the primary objective, is threatened.
“Once the book was finished, we thought, ‘Now what are you going to do about it?’” Dr. Taylor explained. “We started connecting with others who shared the same vision, beginning first with existing advocacy agencies for independent physicians.” TPC welcomed those agencies and then helped them with several business components.
TPC connected with Jeff Powell, president of Integral Leaders in Health (ILH) and welcomed his “business acumen,” Dr. Taylor explained. Others joined the movement quickly, including Ben Lovelace, SVP, Growth and Strategy; H. Howell Clyborne, Jr., ILH Director of Strategic Communications & Government Relations; and Cortney Easterling, Director of Engagement & Communications for Integral Leaders in Health, who brings more than 20 years of strategic communications experience; and the Medical University of South Carolina. The rest continues to make history.
Join the Movement(864) 823-2618
info@thephysicianscollaborative.com
