PRINTLet’s get together
Group practices offer patients one-stop treatment
December 18, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Private Practice. It’s not just a television show on ABC; doctors have always worked together to combine resources and increase efficiency. Since the late ’90s, physicians have been moving into larger practices, usually with between six and 50 doctors, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Many are single-specialty practices where doctors treat one medical area comprehensively.
“Single specialty groups have an advantage, I think, from the physician’s standpoint because everything in the practice is geared toward what we do,” says Dr. Joseph Muscato, founding doctor of Hematology-Oncology Associates, now named Missouri Cancer Associates. “It’s much more efficient for the practice and the patients.” Patients who visit group practices have access to many steps of the treatment process all in one place.
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There are many small group practices in Columbia, but three large single-specialty groups have more than 12 doctors. These groups provide orthopedic, cancer and heart care and have expanded in size and number over the years.
Columbia Orthopaedic Group
cog-docs.com
1 S. Keene St.
443-2402
Opened: 1965
Original doctors/staff: 3 doctors / 2 staff members
Original size: located in a house off Broadway
Doctors/staff today: 26 doctors / 120 staff members
Size today: 72,000 square feet
Patients served in 2008: an average of 300 to 500 patients a day
Services: diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system, including elbow, hip, wrist, hand, knee, foot and ankle
What’s new? In spring 2008, the group moved to a new facility at the southwest corner of Broadway and Keene Street. The facility consists of physician offices, exam rooms, an imaging center and an in-house outpatient surgery center.
Missouri Cancer Associates
missouricancer.com
1705 E. Broadway, Suite 100
874-7800
Opened: 1982 as Hematology-Oncology Associates; merged with Murrell Westgate and Bryer Inc. in 1997 to become Missouri Cancer Associates
Original doctors/staff: 1 medical oncologist / 4 staff members
Original size: 2,200 square feet
Doctors/staff today: 9 medical oncologists / 6 radiation oncologists / 127 staff members
Size today: 34,000 square feet
Patients served in 2008: estimated 25,432 physician-patient meetings
Services: medical oncology, radiation therapy, clinical research, diagnostic radiology, pharmacy services and patient support services
What’s new? Missouri Cancer Associates moved into a new facility in August 2007. All of the patient services are now on one floor, and the facility has upgraded radiation technology.
Missouri Heart Center
moheartcenter.com
1605 E. Broadway
256-7700
Opened: 1991 as Missouri Cardiovascular Specialists; expanded and moved to Missouri Heart Center in 2000
Original doctors/staff: 6 cardiologists / 20 staff members
Original size: 15,000 square feet
Doctors/staff today: 11 cardiologists, 2 cardiovascular surgeons / 90 staff members
Size today: 28,000 square feet
Patients served in 2008: average 250 patients per day
Services: patient care, clinical research, on-site diagnostic services, nuclear medicine to detect blockages, Enhanced External Counter Pulsation therapy to promote new blood vessel growth around blockages, echocardiogram and vascular ultrasound procedures to generate detailed images of the heart’s interior, pacemaker checks by telephone and a cardiac catheterization laboratory to detect blockages in the heart
What’s new? In 2006, the center converted to electronic medical records.
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