The Ohio Independent Collaborative, a statewide coalition of independent physicians, recently doubled in size with the addition of Columbus-based Central Ohio Primary Care.
Today, the collaborative boasts more than 700 primary care and specialty providers who collectively care for more than 750,000 patients across the state. The collaborative launched in August as a way for independent physicians to loosely band themselves together to better compete with the state’s health care giants like the Cleveland Clinic and Cincinnati-based Mercy Health. The hope is to build an organization that will allow the participating docs to achieve the advantages of being part of a larger system—such as group purchasing and leverage with insurance companies—without sacrificing their independence.
In a prepared statement, Gary Pinta, president of the collaborative and a physician with Pioneer Physicians Network who practices in Cuyahoga Falls, said the rapid growth of the Ohio Independent Collaborative “strengthens our ability to work with larger hospital systems.” The group offers care in more than 35 specialties. Its members also include Community Health Care Inc., Northern Ohio Medical Specialists (NOMS Healthcare), Pioneer Physicians Network, Premier Physicians and United Health Network.
Dr. Robert Kent, chairman of the collaborative and president of the Cuyahoga Falls-based Western Reserve Hospital, said, “By creating and building strong relationships with independent medical providers across the state, we’re able to strengthen the local medical landscape and allow patients to receive great care at the same hometown offices that they’ve relied on, sometimes for generations.”
Kent added in his statement, “We’re able to create high-quality new care options for patients in the same locations they already know, trust and depend on.”
