Coastal leaders describe challenges of designing the primary care practice of the future: Goal is to be patient-focused, data-driven and service-centered.

PROVIDENCE – G. ALAN KUROSE, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Coastal Medical, recently described the growth and transformation of the designated Accountable Care Organization (ACO) over recent years to the Executive Masters in Healthcare Leadership program at the Brown School of Public Health. Dr. Kurose, who began his career in a small internal medicine practice, gave a snapshot of Coastal: It is physician-owned and governed, with 88 doctors, 25 NPs/PAs in 19 clinical offices and has an active patient roster of 120,000. The primary-care driven organization has operated on a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model since 2009, and is recognized as a National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Level 3 PCMH. “When we say call us first we really mean it. The front desk person is not a hockey goalie,” Dr. Kurose said in describing Coastal’s drive to be patient-centered. Patient access has increased with Coastal365 adult clinics for urgent primary care visits, which are open