Growing in new markets

New West physicians rose out of the ashes of the failed HMO model of the mid 90s. And at that time, we didn't know where healthcare was headed. But we did know that if we built a model that drove all care to the optimal intersection of quality and efficiency, we'd be well positioned for the future. We had reached a point in our evolution where we needed some help that we couldn't get just based on our size and scale. We needed capital for growth, we needed sophisticated data and analytic abilities. And we also wanted to leverage best practices with other like minded groups across the country so that we could collectively elevate the bar of our practice.

Polyclinic, was founded in 1917, by four physicians who wanted to emulate the model of the Mayo Clinic.

When the Polyclinic began to think about joining a larger entity, it was entirely physician driven and physician led, physician governed and fiercely independent.

[David] Our goals were to become a bigger version of the Polyclinic, but also a better version of the Polyclinic. And we really felt that Optum would help us be a better organization.

When we joined Optum in 2017, New West physicians had established a fairly large footprint in Colorado, but we were having difficulty growing. Since 2017, we have grown about 15%, with the addition of the resources through OptumCare.

We already have opened one new facility with a financial support of Optum. And we have just started working on expansion of our major North End center. And we have begun to pursue growth outside of Seattle, which was one of the key objectives that we had in looking for a partner.

One of the interesting things about OptumCare is that if you look across the country, there really are a fairly limited number of very high functioning medical groups. And the fact that we can now come together under a single umbrella to share best practices and elevate the bar of our practice has really been remarkable. And I think all of us have collectively benefited from that collaboration.

It's really exciting to tap into and connect with other parts of the Optum system. So we've been in contact with Optum Behavioral Health, with Surgical Care Affiliates, with other parts of OptumHealth, and really other parts of the Optum enterprise. And we now have the opportunity to bring those capabilities to bear through our care delivery organization.

When we think about patient satisfaction, or patient experience, all those things are outcome measures. But what I think we wanna get back to, is connecting human beings to each other in the way that allows them to give and receive compassionate to each other and thereby have a more fulfilling life.