Going solo: one doc, one room, one year later.

» The author's unique practice arrangement allows him to keep his patient panel relatively On Feb. 26, 2001, after nearly a decade of salaried practice within a large organization, I opened a solo office with no support staff and just 150 square feet. I took this radical step because I believe our current health care system is so deeply flawed that incremental improvements to current practice cannot possibly save it. I wanted to create an office that would simultaneously deliver on what the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has identified as the four themes for ideal practice: unbeatable access to care for patients, deep and personal patient interactions, the utmost reliability in clinical care, and practice vitality in terms of finances, physician and staff satisfaction, and innovation.