Preserving the viability of small physicians practices: Interview with athenahealth's Scott Andrews

[audio http://healthbb.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/andrewsathena3.mp3]
It's hard for small primary care practices to keep their heads above water these days. It's not due to a lack of patients. Instead increasing administrative complexity and the need to deploy advanced information technology are making it harder and harder to go it alone. Many physicians are giving up their private practices to become employees of larger, hospital-centric health care systems. That's a shame for those docs who'd rather practice in a more personal environment and for patients (like me) who prefer a smaller setting for primary care.In this podcast interview, athenahealth's vice president for client services, Scott Andrews discusses the challenges facing primary care practices and how some practices are responding successfully.