The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to primary care practices over the past two years. The pandemic has highlighted the existing precarious state of primary care due to chronic underfunding combined with the prevailing fee-for-service payment model, which is built on face-to-face visits. To meet the ongoing needs of their patients during the pandemic, practices quickly pivoted to increased utilization of telemedicine services as well as offering testing and vaccination clinics.

Learn how a large multi-specialty private practice and a federally qualified health center with multiple locations responded to the challenges presented by the pandemic, including changes implemented and lessons learned.

Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will learn how two primary care practices responded to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including developing policies for testing and triage, vaccination, staffing, and use of telemedicine.
2. Participants will learn how the two practices met the preventive and chronic care needs of their patients during the pandemic.
3. Participants will learn what lessons the practices have taken from the COVID-19 pandemic that they can use in the event of a future pandemic or other health emergency.

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Speakers

Norman H. Chenven, MD – Family Physician & Founding CEO, Austin Regional Clinic

Chenven is a family physician and the founding CEO of Austin Regional Clinic (ARC), a multi-specialty medical group with 33 clinical locations in 14 cities and 4 counties. In 1999, he developed Covenant Management Systems (CMS) – an Austin-based organization that delivers a full spectrum of medical group management and billing services to multi-specialty medical groups. Chenven received his undergraduate degree in physics from Brown University, medical degree from the State University of New York Medical Science Center, and post-graduate training at Bexar County Hospital in San Antonio, TX. He also spent 2 years on a Navajo Reservation as General Medical Officer in the Indian Health Service.

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Anas Daghestani, MD  – Internal Medicine Physician & Chief Executive Officer, Austin Regional Clinic

Daghestani is CEO and President of Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) and President of the ARC Executive Board. He is also President and CEO of Covenant Management Systems (CMS), an Austin-based organization that delivers a full spectrum of medical group management and billing services to multi-specialty medical groups. In addition, Daghestani serves as Chief Medical Officer for the Seton Health Alliance, an accountable care organization (ACO) in partnership with the Seton Healthcare Family, and as Medical Director of ARC’s Population Health & Clinical Quality. He received his medical degree from Damascus University in Syria, and completed his internship and residency at the University of Illinois St. Francis Hospital with additional training at the University of Kentucky and is board certified in Internal Medicine.

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Ben Wilson, MD – Associate Chief Medical Officer and COVID Coordinator, Waco Family Medicine

Wilson is the Associate Chief Medical Officer and COVID Coordinator at Waco Family Medicine in Waco, TX. He received his Doctorate of Medicine from University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio and Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University. He completed residency at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine - Scott & White Internal Medicine Residency Program and has been an American College of Physicians member since 2011.

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‍This webinar is produced by the Texas Primary Care Consortium with support from Texas Academy of Family Physicians and Texas Medical Association.