New Healthcare Facility Experiences IT Growing Pains

Well, dear readers, if it’s not one thing it’s another. Our family has been plagued by broken bones (documented in a recent blog), as well as the sinusitis and bronchitis that have plagued so many other families as of late. Like a typical mother, I put off going to the doctor in the hopes that the malady would run its course, as my colds typically do. But after four weeks (one spent on holiday in the Virgin Islands), I woke up with new, more intense symptoms, and so decided to seek professional help. (I’ll leave it to you to determine if the copious amounts of rum punch and lengthy amount of time spent getting to and from Tortola in any way impacted my condition.)

I was faced with several options: try to get seen by my primary care physician, who, since my move, is now inconveniently located. (Note to self: seek new PCP closer to home.) Try my luck at the Walgreens clinic nearby. Or, go to the urgent care center down the street.

I bypassed Walgreens because I’ve had insurance issues there in the past. (As I drove past, I noticed they are excitedly welcoming back Blue Cross Blue Shield customers.) I faced the same problem at the urgent care center, so decided to try my luck at a previously unconsidered option – the new WellStar Acworth Health Park.

Larger than a typical medical office, but smaller than a typical WellStar hospital, the health park offers a variety of services – urgent care; pediatrics; a variety of specialists; pharmacy; and family, internal and OB/GYN medicine, among other services. I was pleasantly surprised to find that its café offers Starbucks coffee.

Just a few months old, its interior and exterior are pristine – open, airy spaces, fountains and lots of glass accents are certainly a nice change from the typical, closed-in feel of most phsyicians’ offices I’ve visited. The staff was welcoming, sympathetic and accepting of my insurance, much to my relief.

It even had a concierge/upscale feel. Complimentary single-serve coffee was available in the urgent care waiting room, as were a variety of cold beverages. A good portion of the waiting area was given over to kids’ amusements, which I hope my girls will never have to amuse themselves with! I definitely appreciated the wifi throughout the facility. These little perks are so nice when a long wait is in front of you and you’re well enough to take advantage of them.

Being that it is a new facility, it is still experiencing growing pains, most noticeably in the need for additional physicians. Fortunately, I didn’t arrive on a day where patients were wrapped around the building waiting for the doors to open, as the pharmacist told me has happened before. Nevertheless, I did wait a considerable amount of time on the single physician on staff that day. Even he mentioned the need for additional MDs in the face of great community need.

He was cheerful and paid attention to my concerns, even apologizing for the paper prescriptions. Turns out WellStar plans to transition from NextGen to Epic early next year, and is waiting for that process to start in order to bring the health park on board with new, system-wide electronic medical records and e-prescribing. He was very enthusiastic about the conveniences afforded by healthcare IT, which makes me think perhaps I should consider a WellStar physician in my search for a PCP closer to home.

The pharmacy was experiencing its own growing pains, most notably with its consumer-facing payment system, and phone lines. But, the staff’s smiling faces, good attitudes and a fresh cup of coffee helped allay any frustration on my part.

Coincidentally, I came across a press release later that day detailing WellStar’s just-announced partnership with Piedmont Healthcare. They’ve teamed up to form the Georgia Health Collaborative, which, according to Piedmont’s press release, will enable the two “to share intellectual knowledge concerning clinical care and seek cost reductions through economies of scale.”

I’m all for economies of scale, but hope my family won’t have to experience them via unexpected or put-off illness anytime soon.

About the author

Jennifer Dennard

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company's social media strategies for Billian's HealthDATA and Porter Research. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs and currently manages social marketing channels for the Health IT Leadership Summit and Technology Association of Georgia’s Health Society. You can find her on Twitter @JennDennard.

   

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