Physician Services in Senior Housing

by Janelle Meyers, CSA®, LALD

Primary Care in Assisted Living

In the mid-2000’s, I worked at an assisted living facility in Brooklyn Center.  It was here that I first learned of an emerging service that mirrored what used to be a “house call” made by doctors.  As a person ages and especially for people living with dementia it is more difficult to go to a clinic for routine care.  Assisted living facilities and physicians alike have recognized this challenge and adapted. Most communities offer on-site physician services through a third-party provider.

How It Works

When a person moves to an assisted living facility, they have the option to change their primary care to the provider(s) that do rounds in the community.  When you opt for this service, the new physician takes the place of an existing primary physician. The services provided by the in-house physician services are covered under your medical insurance. A person will see the provider on a rotating basis, typically monthly, which is more proactive or when they have a change in health.

Families and the patient have access to their medical records on-line though a health portal. This allows for communication between the physician, the facility nurse and the family.  If a person is experiencing illness the physician can order labs, x rays or other medical testing and it comes to their patient at the facility.  The service is designed to provide better continuity of care and less disruption to the patient.

Providers

Bluestone Physician Services was the first to offer this model and was started in 2006 by Dr. Todd Stivland.  Dr. Stivland was in primary care and saw first-hand the difficulty his aging patients had coming into the clinic. The first time I met Dr. Stivland was when his patient moved into a facility I was managing.  At that time, he was the sole physician for the group.  Today, this provider serves patients in many senior living communities in Minnesota as well as Wisconsin and Florida.

Another group of onsite primary care providers began in 2015 called Twin Cities Physicians.  Founded by Steven Atkinson, PA-C, MS and Dr. Clemencia Rasquinha, MD,CMD, Twin Cities Physician serve senior patients across the Twin Cities.

Newer to the scene in Minnesota is Curana which is a nationwide senior living care collaborative out of Texas.

Fairview Geriatrics provides primary care in many of the communities managed by Ebenezer throughout the Minneapolis and Saint Paul area.

Lifespark COMPLETE™ offers a holistic approach to primary care for seniors in their network.  As you can see, there are a lot of options available.

We also have seen smaller providers in certain senior living communities.

Benefits

Besides convenience, there are many other benefits to utilizing an in-house physician service.

• I think that the biggest benefit is continuity of care. The facility staff have an established relationship with the physician groups they work with. When the physician sees their patients, they communicate directly with the facility staff and the families in person or through an online tool.
• Improved communication. When the physician sees their patients, they communicate directly with the facility staff and the families in person or through an online tool. Families can contact the physicians directly with concerns and everyone on the health team can see the communications.
• Reduction in emergency and urgent care visits. Physicians can order x-ray’s, labs and other tests that will come to the patient instead of spending unnecessary hours in a health clinic or emergency room.

Learn More

Would you like to learn more about physician services and other benefits to living in senior housing? Choice Connections can help provide you with the education to make an informed decision.  You can learn more by visiting us at www.choiceconnectionsmn.com