Primary Care Network Continues Growth in Providers

In 2022, Baptist Health focused on continuing to bolster its primary care network by strategic investments and provider recruitment to increase market share and the number of patients seen across the Baptist Health network.

This initiative has a large impact on the overall Baptist Health system because most care begins and ends with primary care. Patients seen by a Baptist Health primary care clinic or emergent care clinic have a built-in Baptist Health connection that increases the likelihood they will stay in the system through other points of care.

As the starting point of care, growing the number of providers and adding sites in locations that may not currently be served—whether that is in the central region of the state, west region, or rural communities—is an important part of the system’s strategic growth.

Broadening access to Baptist Health through the primary care network also improves patient loyalty to the system, and the ability to continue that patient connection through a seamless transition from primary care to other points of care can improve outcomes, quality of care, patient experience, and lower costs.

As of November 2022, Baptist Health had increased its number of primary care providers to 148 compared to 140 at the end of 2021. That total includes the addition of 12 providers to the network and the loss of four for a net gain of eight.

This increase in one year is a significant accomplishment considering the challenges of physician recruitment and the competition from other area health care providers trying to grow their primary care capabilities as well.

Part of the success in recruiting physicians is Baptist Health’s strong and positive reputation in primary care and in other areas of care. This has enabled Baptist Health to be selective in recruitment to stay consistent with the goals, mission, and values of the system.

When new primary care points are added, it is with the intent that they will help Baptist Health continue to grow in both organizational goals and in lives impacted. Baptist Health wants providers who are not only capable but also truly care about the patients they serve.

Some additional successes in 2022 in growing the primary care network have come in preventive medicine objectives to promote annual wellness visits and the Baptist Health High Risk Breast & Hereditary Cancer Clinic—both of which have led to lifesaving care for some patients.

The high-risk clinic has had some phenomenal catches with patients based on risk stratification assessments as they go through the Baptist Health Breast Center. When patients are identified as high risk, Baptist Health can immediately plug them in to the care management process that will identify risk factors and then actions that need to be taken by the patient.

Annual wellness visits have been a point of emphasis with Medicare Advantage plans, and Baptist Health has had great success this past year with identifying issues in early stages or prestages that have effectively saved the lives of these patients thanks to being called back in from a wellness visit.

Baptist Health has five specific quality metrics as a focus in primary care—breast cancer screening, diabetes control, blood pressure control, statin therapy, and colorectal cancer screening. While those are metrics that are important to payers, they are also very important to the health of patients.

If Baptist Health can do a better job at managing those five metrics at the start through primary care and preventive medicine, the end result will improve more lives of Arkansans as the number of patients accessing care through the primary care network grows.