Today we’d like to introduce you to Bina Adigopula.
Bina, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
A caring heart and [they say] kind eyes have been the hallmarks of my professional and practice success.
After 5 years with others. I realized that a supportive and empathetic staff were key in my enjoyment of my craft. In 1996, armed with a disarming manner and fledgling Spanish, opened shop in an area dominated by male physicians. I hung up my shingle in a sub-leased medical office by Sharp’s Grossmont Hospital and went to work with one part-time rented staff member. By 2009 [and 3500 patients later], I had moved into a 4000 sft independent office building, with 2 MD associates to help and 10 staff.
I credit the practice’s successes to:
A/ My unflagging curiosity about my patients’ care, their families’ dynamics, influencing their health, and nurturing a culture of family-focused care, to economic changes
B/ Medi-cal adopting Managed care, timely ACA incentives, and a growing number of Tricare families, and
C/ To my trilingual, empathetic manner with mothers and grandmothers, who make 4 out of 5 children’s healthcare decisions.
In this day of internet-equipped parents, time-driven patient encounters, and worsening social issues like Childhood Obesity, Asthma, ADHD and more, my patients find it refreshing that I insist on a minimum 15 minute recheck to a 50-60 minute extended office visit, and my encouragement of parents to actively participate in their children’s care and understanding of their conditions,
Split equally between newborns to 5 year olds, 5-11 year olds, and adolescents, the practice has matured into one that will likely close its panel to new patients in another 5 years, walking that fine line between patients aging-out of the practice [we encourage 20+-year-olds to seek a family doctor], and growing the practice through newborns and referrals.
Strategic partnerships with Area Clinics, Dentists and Mental health, Grossmont Pediatrics is on the cusp of providing us with the platform to transfer my success, my care philosophies, and my desire to be a model leader to Providers, to a Triage RN for incoming calls, to Referrals who quickly processes access to Rady Children’s Specialists and Ancillary services, and to on-site Staff that thrive in their mission to provide the best Pediatric Care East San Diego offers.
More than 50% of our patients are from zip codes farther than 5 miles from the practice – a testimony of how far patients are willing to travel to see doctors that they really, really like and trust.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
In 2015, Obamacare had the unintended consequence of forcing many east county employees, until then covered by employer-sponsored group plans, into higher premium individual ACA exchange plans, mostly Bronze plans. To avoid high-deductibles, this resulted in a dramatic fall-off of timely sick and preventive visits and consequently revenues.
By 2017, Grossmont Pediatrics couldn’t compete for Physician salaries with larger and well-funded area practices, resulting in the loss of a physician to a competing practice in late-2017. To avoid additional erosion in our ability to compete, the practice is teaming up with an area clinic to offer additional visit volume at Grossmont Pediatrics and to expand offerings for Dental and Mental/Behavioral Health Care for children and adults at the same location.
Since 2012, the primary hospital for our newborns changed the profile of its delivering OBG network. Outsourcing this to large out of town groups with locum tenens coverage redirected the practice’s newborn growth to a fifth of its 2012 volume – affecting the addition of newborns at a healthy level.
A programming change [allegedly inadvertent] in the delivery admission process seems to have favored a competing group, which is being investigated by the management team. Outcome of this effort to level the playing field is being awaited at time of going to press.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Grossmont Pediatrics – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Primary care pediatrics is the gateway to a Doctor for routine and chronic physical and mental health conditions from birth until after the teenage years. To have an engaged and skillful pediatrician can decide how healthy future adults grow up to be. It also influences how trusting [or anxious] that adult is of the healthcare system for his/her own child, If this goes well, the future parents will move mountains to have access to that pediatrician for their own child/ren when it comes time to choose one.
One of the most gratifying experiences for a pediatrician is to take care of children of former patients. Further, Pediatric specialists like Cardiology, Pulmonology, GI and Neurology depend upon the expertise of the primary Pediatrician to interpret the condition of the child, so they can quickly hone in to the best-specialized care.
Clinical knowledge and training is all very well, but unless you are in a specialty that requires you to interact with a machine [radiology, etc.], Pediatricians are usually required to satisfy expectations of 3 generations – the patient, the parent, and a grandparent. They will tell you that Pediatrics tests their mettle more than other specialties’.
Asthma, ADHD, Childhood Obesity and Diabetes, Adolescent physical and mental health, have reached epidemic proportions. Social networks, limited physical and natural light activity, cyberbullying, social inadequacy, reduced academic performance, etc. are fraying the very fabric of communities. A valued pediatrician can often give hope to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
A strategic tie-up with a large clinic will enhance our ability to compete with area practices and expand the menu of offerings from Primary Care Pediatrics, into Dentistry and Mental and Behavioral Health.
This plan will also provide Grossmont Pediatrics access to additional funding to hire better-trained staff for Triage, Education and Family- and Patient-centered care.
Pricing:
- $ 65 up per visit for cash pay and $ 50 up for Sliding-scale qualifying patients
Contact Info:
- Address: 6942 University Avenue A, La Mesa, CA 91942
- Website: grossmontpediatrics.com
- Phone: 6196982184
- Email: venk@gpeds.sdcoxmail.com
- Other: google.com/reviews
A diverse group of children on a white background
Image Credit:
Lane LLC
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