Blue-collar doctors
The rapidly expanding Ohana
By Jerry Tune
Physicians Group has seen its
number of patients double to
70,000 from last year
Star-BulletinAT a time when many large medical institutions in Hawaii have been downsizing, a small physicians-owned health group has quietly quadrupled in size over the past two years.
The Ohana Physicians Group started with eight physicians but now includes 35 doctors and four nurse practitioners. The group operates out of 16 clinics and has brought specialized medical services to rural areas and places such as West Kauai and Oahu's North Shore. The group has nine clinics on Oahu, five on Maui and two on Kauai.
"We're the blue collar workers of the medical profession," said Dr. Scott Miscovich, who incorporated the Ohana group in 1997 with eight physicians. "We're the ones who see 25 to 30 patients a day."
The group includes pediatricians, family practitioners, obstetrician-gynecologists and internal-medicine specialists.
"We see a 30 percent increase (in physicians) next year and through (each of) the next four years," Miscovich noted.
OHANA AT A GLANCE
What: Ohana Physicians Group.
While the group does not have memberships like other health groups, Ohana's patient list has roughly doubled to 70,000 from last year, according to Miscovich. And Ohana projects $10 million in gross revenues next year.
Miscovich, who has led the business side of the corporation, also operates a family practice from his Kaneohe office.
"Doctors who join Ohana Physicians Group have, what we define as, 'the whole package' -- training, experience and personality," Miscovich said. "Physicians also must share a core value of the group, which is for doctors to become active participants in their communities."
The group requires its doctors to do four to six hours of community service each month and it is involved with many programs including Special Olympics, Professionals for Drug Free Kids and Head Start. Physicians also work with students at Kahuku High School, Castle High School, Le Jardin School, and Keolu Elementary School on Oahu.
The community service is also part of a point system used to evaluate physicians. Patient satisfaction is also measured in the evaluations, which are used to set financial bonuses funded by 5 to 10 percent of net revenues.
Miscovich said the group has "grown through merger and acquisition," with a typical deal involving stock and cash reflecting the established practice that is being brought into Ohana. But beyond the numbers, Miscovich feels it is vital that the physicians chosen fit into the rural lifestyle. He mentioned Dr. Michele Shimizu who delivers many of the babies on Oahu's North Shore.
Dr. Susan Chapman, who with her partners run Pali Women's Health Center, was the latest to join the group.
Miscovich, a native of Latrobe, Pa., became interested in the medical profession as a teen-ager after seeing a car wreck on an interstate highway. "At least a dozen people were injured," he said. "I felt so helpless. That's when I decided to become a doctor."
As a teen-ager, Miscovich volunteered and later worked for an ambulance company. He put himself through Cornell University as a certified paramedic in Ithaca, N.Y., and graduated in 1982. He received some of his medical school training at Harvard University and his residency at Yale University and St. Mary's Hospital in New Haven, Conn.
Miscovich gained business experience working with Spectrum Healthcare, a St. Louis-based health maintenance organization. He was Hawaii regional director for six years, and national director for two years -- working out of Hawaii. He said he managed an annual budget of $60 million while supervising 500 physicians and 1,000 support personnel in 30 states.
The Ohana Group has an affiliation with the Castle Medical Center to provide administrative services. The Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital and the Kauai Community Development Corp. also provide financial support for the Waimea and Eleele clinics.
