STYLE Media and Design

Brian Underwood
Vice President for Physician Resources
Banner Health’s Western Region
Photography by Warren Diggles

Dear Northern Colorado Reader,

What is Banner Medical Group?

Banner Medical Group (BMG) is a division within Banner Health that is organized for the purpose of employing physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Along the northern Front Range of Colorado, BMG employs 60 primary care physicians (family physicians, pediatricians, internists and OB/GYNs) and over 70 specialists including many surgical specialties: cardiology, radiology, neurology, gastroenterology, anesthesiology, endocrinology and infectious disease.

How does Banner Medical Group benefit me?

Banner Health’s objective is to recruit and retain high-quality physicians to meet the needs of patients within the communities we serve. Having access to more primary care and specialty physicians in Northern Colorado helps ensure that our patient’s healthcare needs can be met close to home.

At the same time, we are rapidly working to implement an electronic health record that enables physicians to improve patient care through the sharing of real-time information. While this exchange of information will include connectivity with independent physician groups outside of BMG as well, those within the group will proactively work together to develop clinical protocols that manage the efficient delivery of high-quality patient care services from the physicians office all the way through hospitalization.

Finally, by employing physicians under the umbrella of Banner Health, we are better equipped to reduce the growing cost of patient care services. While the financial management of today’s healthcare system is complex, the organization we have developed enables us to concentrate on efficiencies that are not always possible between separate business entities.

What is Banner’s relationship with independent physicians?

Banner Medical Group physicians maintain strong referral relationships with independent practitioners. Patients are referred between BMG and independent physicians every day. Independent and Banner-employed providers work alongside each other as active medical staff members at Banner hospitals. And BMG physicians will always retain the ability to refer their patients to providers and facilities that they feel are the most appropriate for the care of their patients.

However, the economics of running an independent practice have changed significantly over the past several years. Independent physician practices are continually working to manage rising business costs in a medical economic market that is continually faced with downward pressure on reimbursement from insurers. All this makes it very difficult for independent physician groups to grow their practice and recruit additional physicians even though our community is growing and more physicians are needed.

In light of this, Banner, like many health systems throughout the country, is experiencing a growing number of independent physician groups that are looking to join a health system. By partnering with Banner Health, our physicians are relieved from much of the business risk of running a practice. The cost of growth and capitalization are transferred to Banner and physicians are freed to concentrate on providing medical care to their patients. To date, the success of this strategy is evidenced by our ability to retain physicians as well as recruit additional doctors into the communities we serve.

What kind of healthcare changes can we expect in Northern Colorado this year?

From a physician perspective, we are actively recruiting for 27 physicians in 12 different specialties for our Loveland and Greeley markets alone. There are active plans to expand primary care services in Loveland at two new locations and we are planning for the expansion of our Johnstown clinic within the next two years. Based upon the continued growth of the northern Front Range, we are always keeping an eye out for expansion opportunities.

While the growth opportunities are the exciting part of any business, there are many challenges as well. On a national level we are closely monitoring the national healthcare reform debate. Without a doubt, Banner Health will be challenged as a national leader in the provision of excellent patient care to continue along this path while simultaneously implementing the technology and innovation that keep patient safety and cost efficiency in the forefront.

Finally, there is the reality that our nation is training far fewer physicians than will be required to meet the growing needs of an aging population. Therefore, another objective for growing our Banner Medical Group today is to stay ahead of the projected shortage curve. By recruiting new physicians today and growing our Banner Medical Group, we are also ensuring that the needs of the communities served by Banner Health will be met well into the distant future.