A pair of well-known Powell doctors, Mike Tracy and Robert Chandler, will not renew their contracts with Powell Valley Healthcare and will be leaving the organization when their contracts expire on June 30.

But they’re not leaving Powell, and they’re not leaving family practice. Tracy and Chandler plan to go into private practice in Powell, but under a completely different model for patient care.

Both say their plan to leave Powell Valley Hospital has more to do with their desire to provide preventive medicine in a way that makes sense to them, than with any problems they were experiencing at Powell Valley Healthcare.

“We don’t want this to be perceived as we’re leaving the hospital because we’re disgruntled,” Chandler said. “We want to pursue a different practice model.”

The doctors hope to retain physician privileges at Powell Valley Hospital, and, if they were to decide to go back to Powell Valley Healthcare, “I would want us to be eligible for rehire,” Tracy said.

Tracy, who is a member of the Powell Valley Healthcare Board, said he plans to continue his service on the board.

Bill Patten, chief executive officer for Powell Valley Healthcare, said, “This is something that Drs. Chandler and Tracy have been considering for some time. They’ve thought about it, they’ve prayed about it. It’s a move that they have decided to pursue. PVHC will assist them in any way that we can. We’ll support them as they move to this next phase of their medical careers.”

Patten said he sent a note Monday to employees about the doctors’ planned move to private practice.

“There are a lot of questions that need to be answered, and as soon as they make some decisions, we will provide more information. For right now, we’re asking for them to be patient.”

While they don’t have a business model plan yet, the doctors plan to start private practice in late summer or early fall. Tracy said he and Chandler want to try a new practice model that will better focus on the triple aim of healthcare:

• Improving the patient experience and access to care.

• Improving the health of the population they serve.

• Decreasing the cost of health care.

As a concept for their practice model, they referred to an article in the Dec. 22 edition of Time Magazine, titled “Medicine is About to Get Personal.”

That article describes two family practice groups, one in Seattle and one in Wichita, Kan., that provide medical care to their patients on a set fee per month rather than charging for each doctor visit. That fee entitles patients to see their doctors as needed, and it allows them to contact their doctors via telephone and email as well.

As described in the story, both patients and doctors are happier with the model, because it allows doctors to provide preventive care and greatly reduces paperwork, and it provides greater access to care for patients.

The article describes the discouragement of current primary care providers, many of whom plan to retire early, and the exodus of medical students from primary care as they realize the challenges they face.

Among those challenges is the mountain of paperwork that reduces the time primary caregivers can spend caring for their patients. In addition, inequities in insurance and government pay structures place more value on invasive procedures to correct problems than on preventive medicine, the article states. 

While the new model has yet to be proven over time and in varying circumstances, it does offer possible solutions for family practice providers and patients alike, the Time story states.

Most attractive to Tracy and Chandler, they say, is the new model’s focus on preventive care and the increased time it would give them to provide care for their patients.

As they prepare for their transition into private practice, Chandler and Tracy plan to send letters advising patients of their plans.

“If they would like to come with us, we will help them; if they want to stay in the current model, we will help them transition to other providers,” Tracy said.

“We just really enjoy and appreciate being part of the community and enjoy and appreciate the workers at Powell Hospital. We look forward to continuing to work with them and serve them.”

Tracy has been a Powell Valley Healthcare employee since 2002. Chandler joined PVHC in 2004.