On this episode of The Scope With Dr. K, Dr. Kosinski chats with Dr. Rockford Yapp, co-founder of GI Partners of Illinois, one of the largest GI practices in the state. Dr. Yapp has been a fixture of gastroenterology in Chicago for the last three decades. In addition to leading GI Partners of Illinois, he is also the founder and chairman of the West Suburban Gut Club, an organization that has fostered the knowledge of GI disease for the last 25 years. He’s also the chairman of the board of the DuPage County Medical Society. Together they discuss practical ways that independent GI practices can contribute to value-based care for patients, and the role that non- compete clauses play in hampering innovation. You don’t want to miss this one!

Episode takeaways

• Dr. Yapp shares brass tacks on how GI Partners provides more patient value: centralized administration, billing, legal, HR, and pathology saves time and creates efficiencies for providers so that they can spend more time with patients and reduce burnout.
• Physician leadership can help change the narrative from the focus on financially driven value-based care to care that provides real value to patients and helps them live better, longer, happier lives.
• Could non-compete clauses become a thing of the past? Dr. Yapp believes they inhibit physicians from doing what they think is in the best interest of their careers and their practice, and that removing them could put employees on more equal standing with their employers.

“I think you really have to come together and realize physicians are strongest when they collaborate, when they work together, when they come together. And I firmly believe that. I don’t look at any of my GI colleagues as my competition. I look at them as my allies, my friends.” – Dr. Rockford Yapp

Update: Digestive Health Services, a division of GI Partners of Illinois, has signed an agreement with SonarMD, to make it easier to proactively manage the health of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

SonarMD is growing! People with IBD are more likely to stay out of the ER and hospital when their GI practice uses SonarMD to identify and address emerging health issues between office visits. Take advantage of the SonarMD program to enhance GI care between patient visits. Contact Rich Henderson at [email protected] or 312-550-1872 to learn more about Illinois payor coverage and enroll your IBD patients.