10 Years of Elevating Doctors’ Voices & Performance in the Mid-Atlantic

Ten years ago, a group of forward-looking physicians took a bold leap by becoming the first practice to join the newly formed Privia Medical Group — Mid-Atlantic.

Those doctors and Privia were aligned in their belief that by uniting private practice physicians, elevating their voices, and equipping them with the tools and support they needed, together they could transform healthcare.

Since then, the healthcare landscape has changed drastically and Privia has evolved accordingly, all while holding fast to that shared vision and mission.

This episode of The Break Room explores Privia’s journey — past, present, and future — with Fred Taweel, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Privia Medical Group — Mid-Atlantic and Eric Beyer, who served as the President of the Mid-Atlantic market before becoming the Executive Vice President of Medical Groups.

This excerpt of our conversation is edited for length and clarity. You can listen to the full episode below and find us on your preferred platform.

Q: Eric, to set the stage, let’s rewind to 2014, back where it all began. What industry trends or challenges, many of which are still present today, led to the creation of Privia Medical Group — Mid-Atlantic?

The first principle is the belief that independent doctors just didn’t have a voice collectively, especially as a counterweight to large, organized healthcare systems like hospitals, health plans, and government agencies. They didn’t have opportunities to contribute to economic policies and program development.

In addition to that, at the time — and for decades before (and still today) — there was a drumbeat for value-based care. We have to get value out of the healthcare system. By “value” I mean high-quality care and great outcomes at a manageable cost. Those sound like simple concepts, but there are a few factors complicating them. The programs weren’t linear; when doctors — many of whom were already effectively, efficiently managing care — produced value, they weren’t necessarily rewarded for it.

There was also an increasing number of doctors choosing employment. They didn’t feel like they had other options. They felt they couldn’t build a career in private practice that would build good income for them and their families.

Q: Dr. Taweel, why should physicians, both now and in the coming years, consider joining Privia?

The complexity of medical practice and the cost of running a private practice are increasing. We saw that it was getting harder in 2013, and it’s just that much harder now. That’s also contributing to burnout. Burnout is skyrocketing. Privia — because it’s a support system for the technology, the patient-physician relationship, the community of doctors within Privia whom we work with — really helps physicians with the difficult work we do every day. And that can help reduce burnout.

Value-based care is here to stay. It’s not going away. Medicare has a mandate that by 2030 all of their patients are going to be in some type of value-based arrangement. So we need to embrace it. As physicians, working alone, it’s hard to deal with that change. We should instead work with other physicians in a larger organization like Privia in order to move the needle.

From improving access to integrating data, here are top tips for thriving in value-based care from seven Privia physicians and leaders.

The last component that is ideal within Privia specifically is our dyad model. In everything Privia does that involves physicians — whether it’s contracting, workflows, or technology that affects how we see patients — there’s always a physician working with a Privia expert. Not only on the clinical side, but on the business side of medicine as well. The dyad model we have makes Privia an ideal place for physicians, now and in the future.

Learn more about Privia Medical Group — Mid-Atlantic.