Business First Coverage of OB•GYN Associates Partnership

General Physician P.C. (GPPC) will more than double its women’s services capacity through a new partnership with OB•GYN Associates of WNY.

The agreement also adds 30 more providers into the OB-GYN service line at GPPC, which includes 12 existing providers, and a patient base of 60,000.

It’s the latest in a series of practice shifts that have grown GPPC into one of the region’s largest multi-specialty medical practices. Unlike some of those deals, this one isn’t a straight practice acquisition. The corporation includes physicians affiliated with the Kaleida Health system.

Darryl Ernst, president at GPPC, said the partnership adds 30 providers to the 250 providers already affiliated with the group.

“This will enable us to share best practices and strengthen the overall quality and accessibility of healthcare for women in the community,” he said.

The medical services organization that operates OB•GYN Associates will become part of GPPC, including 128 employees and three office locations in Lancaster, Orchard Park/West Seneca and Springville. But its provider staff, which includes 15 physicians, four midwives and nine nurse practitioners and physician assistants, will create a new company that will contract with GPPC for medical services.

"We figured out a way to keep them independent as contractors and we then provide these managed services that they use to provide for themselves," Ernst said.

Dr. Carlos Santos, a partner at the practice, said the providers will work almost as independent contractors, allowing them to retain some autonomy while not having to worry about the business side of the practice.

“The way our practice has been pretty successful at growing is mostly because we have always hired doctors that are very like-minded, with a fairly independent mindset,” he said. “Our docs have always been on a productivity model, with the freedom to work when they want to work and take time off when they want. It’s not a direct employee model.”

The move gives the providers options for the future, an exit strategy as well as a way to boost recruitment and retention. But it also allows the practice to expand services for the women they serve, since GPPC has a wide range of specialty service lines.

“We feel we are advocates for women’s health, so how do we fill in some of the gaps that we have in care for women, such as maternal fetal medicine, breast care and GYN services,” Santos said.