Hartford Business Journal

12 Hartford Business Journal • February 10, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS: HEALTH CARE "Health care is a business and that's not a dirty word," she said. "We want to make sure that we get the best value in the healthcare system, so we want to provide the safest care at the lowest cost. To do that you need good clinical people and you need good business people." But Ellen An- drews, executive director of the nonprofit Con- necticut Health Project, an af- fordable health- care advocacy organization, is wary about Starling's lead- ership change. "I think it's a symptom of where the entire health system is going, and it's troubling," she said. She worries about corporate CEOs putting profits ahead of patients, and potentially interfering with the doctor-patient relationship. "I'd like to think that my doctor has my best interests at heart and I wouldn't want anything to come between that," she said. The Connecticut State Medical Soci- ety has raised similar concerns about physicians ceding their autonomy, but the organization also recognizes that physician groups and practices need to adapt to survive, said acting Execu- tive Director Ken Ferrucci. "It's a new day, but we want to make sure that physicians are still making the decisions about the best way to take care of their patients," he said. "Knowing Starling, I can guarantee you that they probably did an exhaustive search and chose the greatest person that they could to run the administrative side." Healthy patients and bottom line Faircloth, who spent the last 10 years as the head of Pinehurst Medi- cal Clinic, a physician-led multispe- cialty group practice based in North Carolina, said his top priorities in his new role are improving patient engagement and satisfaction while increasing services and lowering costs through better efficiencies. He said he will also focus on pursu- ing new revenue streams, recruiting new doctors, improving physician satisfaction and exploring partner- ships with other healthcare providers. He rejected the notion that high- quality patient care and a healthy bottom line are mutually exclusive. "Patients have a choice these days, so you're really treating the patient as a customer," he said. "Providing quality health care is all about engaging the patient, and that drives the bottom line." Posner said the leadership change doesn't mean the medical group, which includes 248 physicians in 32 locations, is giving up physician control. He said the CEO still answers to Starling's board, which is made up entirely of Starling physicians. The group was formed three years ago following the merger of Grove Hill Medical Group and Connecticut Multispecialty Group, founded in 1947 and 1996, respectively. "Our goal is to remain a phy- sician-owned and physician-run practice," said Posner. "That said, given the changes in the healthcare landscape nationally, you have to find some middle ground where you can do all the things you have to do to comply with the federal regulations and yet still have the feeling of a private practice. That's the sweet spot we're going for." Ellen Andrews, Executive Director, Connecticut Health Project >> Healthcare Inc. continued that uses machine learning to design individualized care to patients. Startup executives involved with the partnership said having a large, well- known healthcare system use their products imbues them with legitimacy. "Knowing that Hartford Health- Care has used it … will give us a boost in terms of confidence from other assisted-living facilities," said Reinout Engleberts, co-founder and CEO of Sensare, who is interviewing potential employees and hopes to hire one in the next month. Well-Beat co-founder and CEO Ravit Ram Bar-Dea said the program can serve as a proving ground, and demon- strate why healthcare facilities should incorporate his company's product. In addition to increasing innova- tion within the Hartford HealthCare system, Stein said the pilot could also help develop Connecticut's economy by establishing Greater Hartford as a destination for health-tech startups. Hartford HealthCare has launched its own accelerator program — called Digital Health CT — that also focuses on medical-technology startups. >> Med-Tech Startups continued

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