The nation’s independent cardiology practices are facing serious challenges, such as financial pressures, rising competition and fragmented technology. These struggles have left many practices with no choice but to be gobbled up by a private equity firm or a large health system.
This week, Atria Health launched an alternative model — one that focuses on maintaining independence. The Philadelphia-based company scaled its autonomy-focused partnership model to be available nationwide.
Atria doesn’t buy and then subsequently own practices. It provides capital, expertise and technology to help cardiologists build independent, physician-led practices.
“Atria Health forms a long-term partnership with a physician-owned and -led practice. They maintain their business and clinical autonomy. These long-term relationships allow us to invest capital, capabilities and capacity to support the practice in their vision for growth and patient service,” stated CEO Matt Eakins.
He said Atria is focused on creating new, value-based service lines together with its partners.
The team at Atria thinks of themselves as “builders,” Eakins said. Working in true partnership with its partners, the company builds new solutions designed to help practices grow sustainable in the communities they serve, he explained.
Traditional PE models, on the other hand, can be thought of as “harvesters,” Eakins noted. In his view, PE firms employ strategies to buy practices and help aging physicians monetize what they have built over generations.
“The result is a bleaker future for the next generation of cardiologists. More unfortunate is the impact this can have on patient care, when physicians are no longer steering the practice. We chose the harder, but more sustainable path at Atria,” Eakins declared.
His company officially launched in 2022 with its inaugural partner, Philadelphia-based AMS Cardiology. Now Atria is scaling its partnership model across the country.
“We have spent the last two years quietly proving out our model and executing a strategy that we think is distinctive in cardiology,” Eakins remarked. “In that time, we have perfected our model and delivered for AMS Cardiology. They are better serving their patients — they deployed the first cardiac stent in an ASC in the state of Pennsylvania. They are better off financially despite incredible pressures and inflation. And the practice is more resilient to serve the community for decades to come.”
By launching nationally, Atria hopes to reshape the practice of cardiovascular medicine to be more patient-centered, physician-empowered and financially sustainable, Eakins added.
Photo: BrianAJackson, Getty Images
