Charlotte attracts big names in medicine
By Karen Garloch, The Charlotte Observer | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"I wasn't ready to leave
But with each interview at
Neuwirth is one of a cadre of top-notch, sought-after doctors who've been recruited from big-name medical centers to
Most of the newcomers have left universities with medical schools to come to
"There is great advantage of being in the Southeast and being in
At the same time,
Matthews, who worked at Carolinas HealthCare Center in the 1990s, said he was surprised by how much the system changed in the 10 years he was gone. Today, it's one of the largest nonprofit systems in the country, with annual revenue of
Most of the new doctors have been recruited to the
One of his first hires was a colleague from
The list of Raghavan's other recruits reads like a directory from major U.S. cancer centers -- Dr.
But cancer isn't the only service attracting talent. Others include:
--Neuwirth, who is charged with redesigning the delivery of primary care and preventive care using innovations such as group appointments for patients with similar problems who can see one doctor at the same time, for a longer visit than usual, and benefit from shared discussion.
--Dr.
--Dr.
Many doctors new to
Kim, a lung cancer researcher who had tenure at M.D. Anderson, said he was proud to work at "one of the best cancer institutes in the world" and was "very much not interested" in
Raghavan said Kim seemed "a little bit condescending" during his first visit. "I'd love to have you here," Raghavan said he told the
The more Kim thought about it, the more he liked what he saw. He came to Levine as chair of solid tumor oncology and investigational therapeutics, one of Raghavan's top two lieutenants.
"People at M.D. Anderson who were close friends of mine said, 'What are you thinking? Why are you doing this?' " Kim said. "But I can tell you, I'm just starting my third year, and I have not had a single thought of regret."
'We're building'
Years of building and expansion led to this point.
Leaders at
Under former CEO
Former chief of surgery Dr.
Raghavan liked that idea too. His stated goal is to create a "showcase operation" with a decentralized approach. That means having a strong base of cancer specialists doing research and treatment in
"It's an exciting new concept," said Greene, who now works for the institute. "When (doctors) come from a very strong academic background, they're always looking for something new."
Although
But medical schools can sometimes be slow-moving, underfunded and reluctant to change.
For example, Kim said clinical trials get approved more quickly at
Neuwirth agreed: "This organization attracts people who have a sense of urgency. ... They have an itch for making health care better."
For example, Neuwirth recently became interested in national research showing that a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet can dramatically improve the health of people with diabetes. He brought leading researchers to
"It would have been difficult to do this in
Local treatment
Across the region, other medical providers have noticed what's happening at
"They are recruiting big names," said Dr.
But Boyd, whose oncology group is one of the few not owned by a hospital system, said he likes the freedom to refer patients to other specialists. "If I think there's a better one at Chapel Hill or
Cost of business
Former stars at
Dr.
In his exit interview, Kline said he made clear he thought the
"They're putting their money in getting the best cancer doctors they can buy right now," Kline said. "The revenue is always going to be in cancer, hearts and neurosciences."
Kline added that
Raghavan, the cancer institute leader, said money was not a major motivation for the scientists he has recruited. Instead, they're attracted by the "unique model" for delivering care and about working for the "oncology rock stars" he hired as department and section leaders. He added that some local oncologists who joined the Levine Cancer team "had actually taken a reduction in salary, and in others the salary had remained similar." That resulted from a change in practice, a decrease in patient care in exchange for doing research, he said.
State-supported
The 2014 Medscape Physician Compensation Report, released annually by
One of the reasons doctors might be leaving medical schools for
"Practice offers that might not have looked all that attractive in the past -- to leave one of these big institutions -- might look more attractive now."
Also, with more systems using electronic medical records,"you don't have to be at a special place to do clinical research anymore," Schulman said. "You could easily envision a doctor both running a busy practice and doing clinical research. ... We want research to be based on real patients and real health care settings."
He could have been describing
Dr.
"In turbulent times, which our industry is clearly in," Ray said, "the stability that comes from a large, well-functioning system is increasingly important to lots of folks."
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