August 12, 2025 • 36 mins
Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at a thriving cardiology practice? Eli Anyadi pulls back the curtain on the evolving world of specialty healthcare delivery with a fascinating blend of business strategy and patient-centered approaches.
As the Practice Administrator for Metropolitan Cardiovascular Consultants, Eli navigates the complex landscape of modern healthcare with a refreshing perspective. He reveals how his practice is adapting to dramatically different patient expectations—particularly from millennials who demand transparency, minimal wait times, and seamless digital experiences. The conversation explores how Metropolitan Cardiovascular has implemented innovative AI solutions that are transforming everything from patient check-ins to physician documentation.
What makes this discussion particularly valuable is Eli's nuanced understanding of the delicate balance required in healthcare innovation. He acknowledges the resistance from both older patients who lack technological proficiency and experienced physicians accustomed to traditional methods. Yet he demonstrates how thoughtful implementation of new technologies can actually enhance the human connection at the heart of medicine rather than diminish it.
Perhaps most compelling is Eli's vision for the future of patient care—one where medical practices extend beyond physical locations into digital spaces, meeting patients where they are while maintaining the personal touch that makes healthcare so meaningful. His insights offer a practical roadmap for practices navigating similar challenges and opportunities in today's rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.
Whether you're a healthcare professional seeking operational wisdom or simply curious about how medical practices are transforming to meet modern expectations, this episode delivers valuable insights that will change how you think about your next doctor's visit.
Guest Biography
Eli K. Anyadi, MBA, PPMC
Eli Anyadi is the Practice Administrator at Metropolitan Cardiovascular Consultants, where he combines business expertise with a passion for patient-centered specialty care. With over four years leading operations across multiple locations, Eli oversees everything from compliance and marketing to workflow optimization and technology integration. A strong advocate for blending high-touch care with modern tools, he has spearheaded initiatives such as AI-assisted documentation, pre-check-in systems, and telehealth services—reducing patient wait times and enhancing overall experience. Eli’s leadership is driven by a vision to balance efficiency with empathy, ensuring both clinicians and patients thrive in an evolving healthcare landscape.
Guest Contact & Social Handles
- Name: Eli K. Anyadi, MBA, PPMC
- Role: Practice Administrator
- Organization: Metropolitan Cardiovascular Consultants
- Website: https://www.metrocardiovascular.com
- Email: eanyadi@metrocardiovascular.com
- Phone: 301-595-0356 | 301-595-0359
- Locations: Beltsville, MD & Columbia, MD
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-anyadi-mba-062bab26/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064144680679
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr Andrew Greenland (00:04):
Welcome to Voices in Health and Wellness.
This is the show where we sitdown with leaders and innovators
shaping the future of care.
In each episode, we explore howpractitioners, entrepreneurs
and industry experts areadapting to the rapidly evolving
expectations of patients andwhat it really takes to deliver
exceptional experiences intoday's health landscape.
Today, I'm thrilled to bejoined by Eli Anyadi, the
(00:24):
Practice Administrator ofMetropolitan Cardiovascular
Consultants.
Eli brings a rare combinationof business acumen and deep
operational expertise inspecialty care, leading a team
dedicated to deliveringhigh-touch, patient-centred
cardiovascular services.
So, eli, welcome to the show.
Thank you very much for yourtime this afternoon, or morning,
where you are, I should say.
(00:45):
Yes, thank you for much for yourtime this afternoon or morning,
where you are, I should say yes, thank you for having me, dr
Greenland, it's a pleasure.
So perhaps we could start atthe top.
Can you share a little bitabout your role and how it fits
into the bigger picture atMetropolitan Cardiovascular?
Eli Anyadi (00:59):
Yes, so a little bit about myself.
So I'm the practice manager forMetropolitan Cardiovascular
Consultants.
I've been with the practice forabout four years.
Basically, I touch on everylittle thing with regards to the
practice when it comes tooperations, when it comes to
human resource, marketing,inventory, as well as compliance
(01:25):
and risk management.
So I have my hands on a bit ofeverything to get the practice
going and, as it relates totoday, so the practice has been
running for well over 30 yearsand I joined the practice.
Like I said, I've been withthem for about four years.
I joined the practice back in Ibelieve that was 2019.
(01:47):
And so, yeah, so there's a lotthat has gone on with the
practice and how, and you know,healthcare has evolved a lot,
not only in its operations, butalso in terms of in terms of its
(02:08):
approach as well, and so we, asa practice, are trying to adapt
to the different changes sothat we can attract a lot more
patients and deliver a level ofcare that is really good and can
be something to talk about.
Dr Andrew Greenland (02:24):
Amazing Guys, this is a global podcast.
Can you give us some sense ofhow big the operation is at
Metropolitan Cardiovascular?
How many clinicians do you haveand staff and that kind of
stuff, just so people get somesense of the size of your
operation?
Eli Anyadi (02:38):
Yes, so we are a medical group.
Metropolitan Cardiovascular isthe specialist component, so
that's a medical group.
Metropolitan cardiovascular isthe specialist component, so
that's purely cardiology.
We have a cardiologist who isthe owner of the medical group
as well.
We have two locations and ifanyone knows anything about the
Maryland area, so that would bein Balesville and in Columbia as
(03:00):
well.
We do have a medical as part ofthe medical group.
We have two primary careoffices as well.
We do have a medical as part ofthe medical group.
We have two primary careoffices as well and we have two
nurse practitioners who manthose offices and take care of
our patients.
As it stands, Got it.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:17):
So what does a typical day look like for
you, if there is such thing inthe kind of work that you do,
because I know you have yourhand on many, many pulses?
But what's the no pun intended?
Eli Anyadi (03:29):
what does this typical day look like for you?
Yeah, so, a typical day.
So it really depends on the day, because there are a number of
things that we do in ourpractice.
We run tests, a couple of testson certain days, and on certain
days I solely cater toadministrative work.
But on average, when I come inon the Monday morning, the first
(03:51):
thing I'm looking at is theschedule and make sure everyone
is in line, making sure that wedon't have a crazy schedule that
throws patients off.
And then I meet with my team,speak about what needs to be, if
there's a need for any changesor any corrections throughout
the day and yeah, I'm justbehind, really just behind the
(04:15):
scenes, pacing from the frontdecks to the back, making sure
that everything that we try toachieve for that day is done.
Dr Andrew Greenland (04:25):
Amazing.
I know you have a particularinterest in the patient
experience.
Sure that everything that wetry to achieve for that day is
done.
Amazing, I know you have aparticular interest in the
patient experience, and whatsort of inspired you to blend
advanced cardiovascular carewith such a strong focus on
patient experience?
Eli Anyadi (04:38):
Yes, we are very focused on patient experience.
I think that's very, veryimportant, I think, for any good
practice.
What my task is to make surethat my physicians, or the
doctors I manage, have anenvironment where they can
thrive and do what they need todo, where they're solely focused
(04:59):
on the clinical and don't haveto worry so much about
administrative work, because Ifeel like that translates to how
well they cater for thepatients we have.
And, of course, if you cater,if patients feel like you care
about them and you're givingthem the care and the attention
that they need, they'lldefinitely be coming back for
(05:23):
practice.
That's very, very important forus to to thrive and to continue
to give the care that we, thatwe sought to give.
Dr Andrew Greenland (05:31):
Brilliant.
And so, speaking about patientexpectations, what shifts have
you noticed in your role overthe last few years?
Has there been any kind ofmajor changes?
Eli Anyadi (05:43):
Yes, there has.
It was surprising to know that.
At Greenland, you know, we ascardiologists, as a cardiology
practice, of course, yes, alarge number of our patient
population cater to older folks,but we've seen a lot of young
people come in to a surprise,and so one of the things that we
have decided to do is we've,especially with our operations
(06:08):
and the way we cater to patientsis to be a little more patients
seamless in that process andalso to attract, you know,
(06:28):
outside of the older populationto also attract younger people
to see the need for running.
You know, coming into the seeinga cardiologist and you know
running a test that they need torun are more associated to
preventive care.
You know things like your bloodpressure, the silent killers, I
call them.
Things like your blood pressure, you know, if there's a
(06:50):
blockage in your heart and chestpain, these things are easily
ignored and unfortunately it'shappened so often amongst young
people and we want to be able tocreate an environment where
people can come in and knowwhat's really going on with
themselves instead of having topush those symptoms away and
hope that everything will justwork out fine.
Dr Andrew Greenland (07:12):
Got it, and specifically millennials.
What are they doing to changethe way you approach care in
your practice?
Eli Anyadi (07:22):
Yes, with regards to millennials.
The thing about millennials isthat and I'm thinking back to a
patient we recently had, not solong ago so one of the things
that we have tried to dodifferently is to so one of the
tools we employed was a companywe call Frazier, so what they do
(07:46):
is they give patients theopportunity to do pre-check-ins
before they come into the office, so that we can reduce the wait
times.
I feel like they don'tmillennials don't have the
patience to wait in a doctor'soffice for too long, and so one
of the ways we've tried to curbthat or take that away or reduce
(08:07):
the patient wait time is tointroduce pre-check-ins, which
have been effective in ourapproach to millennials.
Another way I think millennialshave changed the way we do
things is also our onlinepresence.
Millennials are going, arefinding a lot of things online,
(08:34):
especially social media, eitherTikTok and Instagram and so we
want to be able to create anonline presence where we have
patients who can not only beeducated.
We want to be able to createsome kind of trust with our
physicians so that if there'sany need for medical attention,
(08:54):
we would be the ones they wouldrecommend or want to be a part
of.
It was surprising, dr Greenland.
You know, even when I first hadmy first child, my daughter, I
found myself going back on theinternet, always researching,
looking for other ways to try,and she had a cough or she had a
(09:16):
cold and, surprisingly, anyinformation I found, I referred
it back to our pediatrician andasked if this was okay.
But this is what's happening alot of the time.
You know, social media isinforming a lot of our
millennials with regards tohealth care, and so you want to
(09:37):
be able to take advantage ofthat and create a presence where
people can trust you and theinformation you give.
So if our physician says, hey,for this condition, condition,
you need to see a doctor, thenthey listen, but outside of that
, it's they, they rather not,they'll, rather not come in at
all, you know, and so that's oneway many of us are affecting
(09:58):
the way we approach our healthcare amazing so you've talked
about pre-check-ins.
Dr Andrew Greenland (10:04):
You've talked about some AI tools.
Are the AI tools to help yourpractice be more efficient?
Was there anything there thatkind of specifically benefits
the patients that areinterfacing with you?
Eli Anyadi (10:14):
Yes, so yes, it's to make the patients more
efficient.
So, like I said, like I saidbefore, the AI tool that helps
us do the pre-checkingsignificantly cuts down patient
wait times.
Another tool we have employedis this is with Quadrant
Healthcare, this is with ourphone calls.
(10:35):
We want every phone call thatcomes through our office.
We don't want to miss any phonecalls, and so they have an
interactive face with an AIpersona, and this AI persona
takes all the information theyneed.
They are able to scheduleappointments even without
talking to anyone at the frontdecks, and so, in real time,
(10:59):
they are able to make all thesechanges without having to wait
longer than they should, and sothat really helps us as well as
a practice.
Dr Andrew Greenland (11:11):
Interesting , and what sort of feedback do
your patients give you?
I mean, are you meeting theirneeds with the various things
that you put into place, or theyhave other things that they're
also demanding of you going intothe future?
Eli Anyadi (11:25):
So the feedback has been great.
Honestly, I feel like you know,with millennials, one of the
things that another thing Ididn't mention was transparency.
You know they want to be ableto have to know what they're
getting into all of theinformation before they even
(11:46):
step into the doctor's office,and so that's part of the tools
that we have created, especiallywith our online presence, is to
put out there exactly what weare really good at, why you
should be in the doctor's officeand things and things like that
.
That helps to inform umpatients and your decision to
(12:07):
come to see um you know, or cometo your practice or to come to
your office.
Also because they feel like um,the more you speak about a
topic, you might have somecommando or you might have some
um for lack of a better word youmight have some authority over
that particular topic, and sothey're more likely to come to
your office.
But yes, to answer your question, um, we have had um great
(12:31):
success with with our approach.
We've seen patient wait timesreduce and um, we've also seen
that um patients are a littlemore relaxed when they come into
the office.
They are not as nervous orPatients are a little more
relaxed when they come into theoffice.
They are not as nervous or theyare not as cringy, if I should
say, to see a doctor, becausethey already know what to expect
.
They already know what to walkinto because of the online
(12:53):
process we create Brilliant.
Dr Andrew Greenland (12:56):
I mean, do you know what your sort of
competition is doing?
Is this the things that youoffer, something that draws
patients towards your practicespecifically, or is everybody in
your niche trying to kind of dosimilar things?
Eli Anyadi (13:09):
um, so it is.
I would say this, though it'snot, I don't, I don't, I didn't
totally believe that everypractice is doing the same
things we're doing.
I think that, um, and and drgreenland, I'll tell you so it
also really depends on thephysicians you have.
I know a lot of practices havebeen in assistance way before
(13:33):
ours, but it takes a lot ofadoption to get into all these
AI tools, and especially whenyou have a physician that has
done it the traditional way forso long.
For example, we also have ascribing AI tool we use that
helps our physicians write outtheir notes.
(13:57):
It also suggests ICD codes forevery diagnosis and by the time
you're done with the patient,their notes are ready for
billing.
But unfortunately, before all ofthis even happened, physicians
had to take their code books,look at trace which diagnosis
goes with what, and I feel likeif you don't have a practice,
(14:21):
that is, physicians that arewilling to adapt to this new
change, that can be verychallenging.
And fortunately, that's thestory of many, many other
practices, especially incardiology.
Cardiology has always cateredto older people, and so you have
physicians who have been inpractice for so long but are not
willing to adapt to the change.
But we are doing thatdifferently.
(14:43):
We want to be able to.
We are seeing that a lot ofyoung people, especially with
preventive care, a lot of youngpeople are having things like
high blood pressure.
A lot of young people are goingaround with pain, chest pains,
and they're just ignoring it andnot realizing how important it
is for them to have that checkedout.
And so we want to attract thosepeople to our practice, not
(15:06):
just the ones who are older andare obviously going through.
You know obvious symptoms likeshortness of breath and things
like that.
So that's how different we arein our children, amazing.
Dr Andrew Greenland (15:20):
And do you think this?
Presumably this benefits allpatients, not just millennials,
and you finding that patients ofall age groups are appreciating
the additional things thatyou're putting into place to
make their experience better, oris it more these people who are
time pressured haven't got timeto sit in waiting rooms and all
this kind of thing that arereally noticing?
Eli Anyadi (15:40):
I would say it was a challenge initially, especially
coming back to the pre-check-in, because a lot of our older
patients don't have or are nottech savvy, and so typically
what will happen is they willget a link, a text, and that
text has a link that sends themdirectly to the platform for
(16:02):
them to answer a few questionsand then they get checked in.
But I can tell you, a largepopulation of older people don't
even have mobile phones to evenreceive those texts.
It either comes from a guardianor a caretaker or a child who
(16:24):
is older and tech-savvy enoughto navigate our platforms, and
so initially it was difficult.
You would still have patientscome in and still want to do
everything through paperwork,and so that was the challenge we
initially faced.
But with time I'm clearlyseeing that everyone is
(16:51):
adjusting to the way things aredone.
One of the things we also do iswe have days where we just
solely cater to telehealthappointments, and so patients
don't have to come into theoffice.
If they are just following upfor test results, they can do a
telehealth appointment with us,and I can tell you patients
(17:12):
would rather see the doctor'sface and hear him speak directly
than over a video call.
And so all of these changes comewith its challenges and trying
to convince patients.
But it's a slow adoption, but Ithink that it's definitely made
on our end.
It's definitely made ourpatients very seamless, and I
(17:35):
think that a lot of millennialsappreciate that they are still
able to.
They don't have to cancel a dayat to cancel at days, um, you
know, they don't have to cancela day at work to get the
appointments taken care of.
They can take a lunch break anddo a telehealth appointment and
still be at work.
And so, um, yes, it favors somegroups and it doesn't favor the
(17:57):
others, but, um, we, we still,we still are open to patients
coming into the office.
We haven't totally taken thatout of the picture, and so I
guess we're just trying to finda fine balance as we slowly
introduce all these ai toolsreally interesting.
Dr Andrew Greenland (18:14):
So you paint a very interesting
dichotomy of we all think youknow technological,
technological shifts are helpingall of our patients but, like
you said, the ones that aren'ttech savvy, that don't have the
kit or the phones they couldvery easily get excluded in this
massive technological advance.
And really interesting youpoint that out and you can still
cater for both and keep bothgroups happy.
(18:35):
That's really reallyinteresting to learn.
Is there anything else that'sbeen frustrating or challenging?
And obviously you've just beentalking about that side of
things, but is there anythingelse frustrating or challenging
in the work that you do?
Eli Anyadi (18:51):
Well, a lot of.
Like I said, my main focus andmy main aim as a practice
administrative manager is tomake sure that all of my
clinicians, right from the MAsto the physicians, are solely
focused on their clinical work,and so when I come up with new
(19:15):
ideas to try and make their workseamless, it's always
especially with the olderphysicians it's always a slow
adoption.
So that in itself is a challenge.
I'm always thinking as amillennial myself.
I'm always thinking of new waysto do old things, and so I'm
slowly weaving off thetraditional ways we cater to our
(19:40):
patients into new ways of doingthem, and so and also, of
course, in the new ways of doingthem that generates new revenue
for the practice.
But the only major challenge, Iwould say, is the adaptions to
these new technologies and newprocesses as well.
So it has always been thatearly adaption, but it's a work
(20:04):
in progress.
We can't say it's gonna justeveryone is going to
automatically embrace it, but Iwould say that with time, you
know, as the world in itself ischanging as well, so our hands
are tied anyway.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:19):
Actually interesting.
So we've talked about and someof the resistance from perhaps
older patients.
But you have any kickback fromyour, from your colleagues, your
medical colleagues, witheverything, with anything
technological, or they very dothey embrace these sort of
changes and tools that you'rebringing in um, we've had some
kickbacks.
Eli Anyadi (20:39):
Um, we have, we've had some kickbacks only because,
um, you know, we've had somekickbacks only because, you know
, the one thing that we see wehear physicians repeatedly say
is that, you know, we prefer todo things the old way, we prefer
to do the things the way weknow them to be, you know, and
(21:00):
so on.
Also because even with medicinein itself and the way they were
trained in the practice, theydon't do as much billing and
they don't do as much.
And the thing is, this is aprivate practice.
If you're in a hospital, youhave departments that are solely
catered to a lot of thesethings, but in the private
(21:22):
practice you are sort of forcedto do every other thing.
Especially as a physician, youhave to make sure your notes are
completed, you're using theright ICD codes so that you
prepare them for billing as well.
But if you're in a biggersetting, you might have other
(21:42):
people doing that work for you,and so in my work of space,
working in private practice,physicians are not just focused
on completing the notes, butthey're doing other things to
make sure that revenue comesinto the practice, and I feel
like that's where all these newtechnologies come in and so they
(22:03):
have to adjust.
Apart from focus yeah, yeah,they care they give to patients
they also have to think outsidethe box and do things outside of
their, their norm to make surethat you know things are
probably taken care ofinteresting and do they embrace
that challenge?
Dr Andrew Greenland (22:18):
or are they solely focused on the clinical
and find these things sort ofextras that they're just having
to do?
Eli Anyadi (22:24):
um, they embrace the challenge.
I I can.
I can say that for sure, um,because the way I sell it to
them is you know, if you're ableto get your notes done within a
day or within a few minuteswith an ai scriber, you don't
have to take work back home.
You have a perfect work balance, because we're finding that a
(22:47):
lot of physicians will see allof your patients and then make
little notes and then take workback home to complete those
notes, and I don't think that'sa good, efficient use of their
time, as busy as they are, andso they like the idea that I can
(23:07):
get all of this done in a dayand I don't have to worry about
going back home and completingnotes, and maybe I try to
remember the things that theinteraction that I have with my
patients, so in real timethey're able to do the work they
need to do, and so they have agood work balance for themselves
as well do and so they have agood work balance for themselves
as well.
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:25):
Got it Well in terms of your management
capacity.
You must have some particularmetrics that you track to get
some sense of your practice andhow it's performing.
What are the things that youmost focus on, and is there
anything in particular thatyou're most focused on and
trying to improve?
Eli Anyadi (23:40):
Yes, so with regards to metrics, so on my end, every
Friday, I generate reports thatI typically look at.
One of them is what I call openencounters.
I have to make sure that everyvisit or every doctor's visit
(24:02):
that was made has been, thosepatients have been checked out.
Because we are private practice, we are largely dependent on
our patients returning back, sowe want to make sure that
patients and also because of thequality of care we want to give
to our patients, I have to makesure that all of them, our
patients, have been checked out,they've been given their
follow-up appointments and alsothe tests that they need to get
(24:25):
done have already been scheduled.
We don't want patients fallingthrough the cracks in regards to
their care and also in regardsto the follow-up they need with
the doctors, and so that's thefirst thing I make sure to check
, and so that helps us givepatients the quality care that
they need, and also it helpspatients and also we are able to
(24:48):
properly monitor how wellthey're doing and make sure that
they're getting the care thatthey need.
The other thing, so there aredifferent facets of it, so the
other thing to it is billing aswell.
Like I said before, making surethat you know billing as well,
like I said before, making surethat you know the doctors are
using the right codes, icd codes.
I'm with my billing team aswell, which we outsource, and
(25:10):
what they do for me is theyshare with me all the claims
that have been denied and whythey have been denied, and what
I do is to gather all thatinformation, go back and see is
this because we are not puttingin the insurances the right way?
Is this because we are notusing the right codes?
Is this because the doctor'snotes are not sufficient enough
(25:32):
to warrant a payment from theinsurance companies?
And so, to add to that, there'sa wide range of things I am
looking at, but these are thetwo main things that I am
focused on how we're caring forour patients with regards to if
they're getting the rightappointments, and how we are
billing as well with regards torevenue that's coming to the
(25:54):
office.
Dr Andrew Greenland (25:55):
Interesting .
So I've had many, manyconversations with North
American practices and billingseems to be a sort of universal
bugbear.
Have you found a magic bulletto solve the whole billing
headaches that your practice has?
Are there particular thingsthat always seem to crop up that
you've managed to solve, or isit like everybody else?
It's one of these things thateverybody has to kind of grind
(26:15):
away at, you know, day in, dayout.
Just asking.
Eli Anyadi (26:22):
Yeah, so there is a varied range of things that
could be done differently and,like you rightly said, in North
America, unfortunately, there'salways things always changing
and so you have to be abreastwith what's current and what
needs to and how you can quicklyadapt to those things.
But I will tell you that I thinkone thing that has really
helped us what's current andwhen and what needs to and how
(26:42):
you can quickly adopt to thosethings.
But I'll tell you that I thinkone thing that has really helped
us is with the use of um in ourscribing, making sure that we
have our notes complete and thecodes that are properly used for
each diagnosis, because if youuse the right, the wrong codes,
you can be sure that you'regetting back a denial, and so
(27:03):
that has been one way we'vedealt with billing.
And also I am also really bigon what we call eligibility or
verifications.
You always want to make surethat every patient that walks
through that door you are in Inetwork with your insurance
company and they are eligiblefor the service that you're
(27:24):
receiving.
Without that, you can be surethe insurance companies are
going to be sending back adenial, and so those are ways
that we have successfully beenable to, you know, at least
reduce the number of claims anddenied claims we received to to
a single digit, instead ofhaving to have so many of them
(27:46):
come back.
Because?
Dr Andrew Greenland (27:47):
because, because of little things that we
could have changed, so where doyou want to be with
metropolitan cardiovascular inthe next six to twelve months?
Have you got any sort ofshort-term things that you're
trying to do with the practice?
Eli Anyadi (28:01):
Yes, 60, yes, so I'd say in about six months.
So we want to be able to.
My focus is my focus, to beprecise is to to find new
revenue streams for the practiceso the practice can grow.
We want to be able to expandinto different offices or
(28:22):
different locations, I shouldsay, because, especially during
COVID, one of the things wefound was that a lot of
practices did not survivebecause of the revenue that was
coming in, and so now that we'vegone past that phase, for any
practice to make its mark or toexist, it's really just the
(28:47):
revenue that's coming in, and somy focus and my passion has to
be able to increase the revenueand in doing so, that also makes
our workflow seamless.
Our workflow seamless and, ofcourse, our patient care also is
(29:08):
not neglected, but it's alsofocused on in the process.
So, yes, in the next six monthswe are looking to grow in as a
practice.
Dr Andrew Greenland (29:12):
In a nutshell, Nice and are you at
capacity?
I mean in terms of you talkabout growth.
I mean, do you need anotherlocation to get additional
capacity or the location youhave at the moment pretty maxed
out?
Eli Anyadi (29:28):
So, yes, the location at the moment is, I
wouldn't say, maxed out.
There's always room forimprovement.
We could always entertain, wecould always welcome some more
patients.
But, with regards to growth,would mean also having having
more physicians on board,because of course the workload
for a physician in, in, in oneof our locations is we don't
(29:53):
want to wear and tear ourphysicians out and so that they
get too tired to be able tocater for our patients.
So, but that also means thatyou have to have revenue coming
in, and so when we are able toemploy more physicians in the
medical group, then that's whenwe will see a lot of different
(30:15):
locations spring up.
Dr Andrew Greenland (30:17):
Got it.
I was gonna ask if you had asort of massive increase in
referrals in the next two orthree months, what will be the
first thing to break?
I guess, from what you'resaying, it's probably fatigue
from your physicians in terms ofthe workload.
That'd be right, or there'd beother things that would break.
Eli Anyadi (30:37):
So, apart from fatigue, let's see the things
that we could break would be.
I would say, as well, maybe Iwould say that.
Well, now that I think about it, I think that's what I would be
(30:59):
.
The only thing that would be areal problem if we had a lot
more referrals coming in.
It would just be the workloadon the physicians.
But if they have the help thatthey're receiving, then that
should make it a lot easier.
And again, that's why a lot ofthese AI employee tools makes it
(31:19):
a lot easier for the physiciansto do their work without having
to feel stressed out.
Dr Andrew Greenland (31:25):
Got it.
So if you could solve one majorchallenge today, whether that
be in your practice metropos andcardiovascular or more widely
in this speciality, what wouldit be?
Eli Anyadi (31:39):
I would say it would be the.
I would say it would be the.
I would say it would be thewait time.
You know, for in cardiology Idon't know how it is like in
other specialties, but patientswalk in very nervous and anxious
because they always they wantto know what's going on with
their heart and I think thatpeople, a lot of patients, have
(32:02):
a preconceived notion about youknow, of course, um, and I think
we all do anything that has todo with the heart can be very
complicated.
So nobody, people, don't playaround with your visits to the,
to the, to the heart doctor, um,and so we in turn have to
create an environment wherepatients come in and are more
comfortable and are okay, youare comfortable to see the
(32:25):
doctor, they have confidence inthe tests they are doing and in
the information and the resultsthey are receiving as well.
So one of the ways we do thatis to reduce the wait times that
we have.
If there's one thing I wouldreally like to work on, would be
the wait times that we have.
If there's one thing I wouldreally like to work on, would be
the wait times.
We don't want patients havingto come in and be anxious and
(32:51):
sit out in the lobby and notknow when next the appointment
is, when they're going to beseen, and also, when I talk
about wait time, I'm not onlytalking about waiting in the
lobby, but I'm also talkingabout how soon they can come in
to get their test results, howsoon they can be seen when it's
an emergency, how soon ourdoctors can attend to them,
because I feel like the longerthey wait to have to see the
(33:12):
doctor, the more the anxietyincreases, and that's not a good
thing for the patients as well.
Dr Andrew Greenland (33:18):
I understand, I understand.
And finally, what do you thinkthe ideal patient experience
will look like in five yearstime?
It might just be the one you'retrying to create locally in
your practice or more widely, inthe country.
Eli Anyadi (33:41):
What do you think?
It might look to be verydifferent, in the sense that
health care has become verysensitive and patients have
become very sensitive as well.
Like I said, a lot ofinformation is out there on the
Internet and on social media,and this is what's informing a
(34:02):
lot of our patients instead ofcoming directly to a doctor's
office.
So, in the global perspective,I feel like doctors are going to
have to move from their decks,or even from their practice,
into creating another, inanother sense, another practice
(34:26):
on their social medias andonline, so that the information
that patients are looking forare catered to as well.
In that sense, there might bepatients who will never come to
a doctor's office, but mayreceive well good information
that they need, you know, whilstthey do their research online,
and so patient experience willdiffer, I feel like with the
(34:53):
introduction of AI as well.
You know, I per se, I for one,like to be able to see my doctor
and have that.
There's a certain kind ofconnection you make seeing your
doctor physically instead ofhaving to do this all, for
example, over telehealth andthings like that.
So, um, but it really dependson the generation.
(35:13):
You know, millennials willdon't mind doing that.
But older folks would want tobe able to talk to the doctors,
because I I've had someinteraction with our patients
outside of just what they'recoming in for.
You know they talk about theirgrandkids, they talk about their
children, and that's what Ifear will be missing in the next
few years.
You know that, just thatinteraction with patients, not
(35:37):
just about the medical but aboutyour whole life, you know
patients like to express,express, and you'll find out
that a lot of the things thatare happening outside, in your,
in your, in your life, um iswhat may be um affecting the way
, the way the symptoms they haveor the problems they really
have.
You know we have patients whocome in who are already
(35:57):
heartbroken and uh, and thataffects your heart as well, you
know.
So, unfortunately, we areslowly moving from that and that
could be a problem, but to somethat could also be what they
need to.
In the fast-paced world that weare in now, in this microwave
world we are in now, that mightbe just what they need as well.
(36:17):
So it really depends on who isreceiving that care.
Dr Andrew Greenland (36:21):
Got it, Eli .
Thank you so much for your timethis afternoon.
Really fantastic insights,Really interesting to hear.
I'm sure what you said willreally connect with the whole
people's perspective on theevolving patient journey.
Really interesting to hearabout what you do at
Metropolitan Cardiovascular andyou'll really have a finger on
the pulse of obviously managinga busy practice but also the
(36:42):
patient experience.
So thank you so much for yourtime.
Really appreciate it.
Eli Anyadi (36:47):
You're welcome.
You're welcome.
I'm glad to be on this podcastas well.
Welcome to Voices in Health and Wellness.
This is the show where we sitdown with leaders and innovators
shaping the future of care.
In each episode, we explore howpractitioners, entrepreneurs
and industry experts areadapting to the rapidly evolving
expectations of patients andwhat it really takes to deliver
exceptional experiences intoday's health landscape.
Today, I'm thrilled to bejoined by Eli Anyadi, the
(00:24):
Practice Administrator ofMetropolitan Cardiovascular
Consultants.
Eli brings a rare combinationof business acumen and deep
operational expertise inspecialty care, leading a team
dedicated to deliveringhigh-touch, patient-centred
cardiovascular services.
So, eli, welcome to the show.
Thank you very much for yourtime this afternoon, or morning,
where you are, I should say.
(00:45):
Yes, thank you for much for yourtime this afternoon or morning,
where you are, I should say yes, thank you for having me, dr
Greenland, it's a pleasure.
So perhaps we could start atthe top.
Can you share a little bitabout your role and how it fits
into the bigger picture atMetropolitan Cardiovascular?
Eli Anyadi (00:59):
Yes, so a little bit about myself.
So I'm the practice manager forMetropolitan Cardiovascular
Consultants.
I've been with the practice forabout four years.
Basically, I touch on everylittle thing with regards to the
practice when it comes tooperations, when it comes to
human resource, marketing,inventory, as well as compliance
(01:25):
and risk management.
So I have my hands on a bit ofeverything to get the practice
going and, as it relates totoday, so the practice has been
running for well over 30 yearsand I joined the practice.
Like I said, I've been withthem for about four years.
I joined the practice back in Ibelieve that was 2019.
(01:47):
And so, yeah, so there's a lotthat has gone on with the
practice and how, and you know,healthcare has evolved a lot,
not only in its operations, butalso in terms of in terms of its
(02:08):
approach as well, and so we, asa practice, are trying to adapt
to the different changes sothat we can attract a lot more
patients and deliver a level ofcare that is really good and can
be something to talk about.
Dr Andrew Greenland (02:24):
Amazing Guys, this is a global podcast.
Can you give us some sense ofhow big the operation is at
Metropolitan Cardiovascular?
How many clinicians do you haveand staff and that kind of
stuff, just so people get somesense of the size of your
operation?
Eli Anyadi (02:38):
Yes, so we are a medical group.
Metropolitan Cardiovascular isthe specialist component, so
that's a medical group.
Metropolitan cardiovascular isthe specialist component, so
that's purely cardiology.
We have a cardiologist who isthe owner of the medical group
as well.
We have two locations and ifanyone knows anything about the
Maryland area, so that would bein Balesville and in Columbia as
(03:00):
well.
We do have a medical as part ofthe medical group.
We have two primary careoffices as well.
We do have a medical as part ofthe medical group.
We have two primary careoffices as well and we have two
nurse practitioners who manthose offices and take care of
our patients.
As it stands, Got it.
Dr Andrew Greenland (03:17):
So what does a typical day look like for
you, if there is such thing inthe kind of work that you do,
because I know you have yourhand on many, many pulses?
But what's the no pun intended?
Eli Anyadi (03:29):
what does this typical day look like for you?
Yeah, so, a typical day.
So it really depends on the day, because there are a number of
things that we do in ourpractice.
We run tests, a couple of testson certain days, and on certain
days I solely cater toadministrative work.
But on average, when I come inon the Monday morning, the first
(03:51):
thing I'm looking at is theschedule and make sure everyone
is in line, making sure that wedon't have a crazy schedule that
throws patients off.
And then I meet with my team,speak about what needs to be, if
there's a need for any changesor any corrections throughout
the day and yeah, I'm justbehind, really just behind the
(04:15):
scenes, pacing from the frontdecks to the back, making sure
that everything that we try toachieve for that day is done.
Dr Andrew Greenland (04:25):
Amazing.
I know you have a particularinterest in the patient
experience.
Sure that everything that wetry to achieve for that day is
done.
Amazing, I know you have aparticular interest in the
patient experience, and whatsort of inspired you to blend
advanced cardiovascular carewith such a strong focus on
patient experience?
Eli Anyadi (04:38):
Yes, we are very focused on patient experience.
I think that's very, veryimportant, I think, for any good
practice.
What my task is to make surethat my physicians, or the
doctors I manage, have anenvironment where they can
thrive and do what they need todo, where they're solely focused
(04:59):
on the clinical and don't haveto worry so much about
administrative work, because Ifeel like that translates to how
well they cater for thepatients we have.
And, of course, if you cater,if patients feel like you care
about them and you're givingthem the care and the attention
that they need, they'lldefinitely be coming back for
(05:23):
practice.
That's very, very important forus to to thrive and to continue
to give the care that we, thatwe sought to give.
Dr Andrew Greenland (05:31):
Brilliant.
And so, speaking about patientexpectations, what shifts have
you noticed in your role overthe last few years?
Has there been any kind ofmajor changes?
Eli Anyadi (05:43):
Yes, there has.
It was surprising to know that.
At Greenland, you know, we ascardiologists, as a cardiology
practice, of course, yes, alarge number of our patient
population cater to older folks,but we've seen a lot of young
people come in to a surprise,and so one of the things that we
have decided to do is we've,especially with our operations
(06:08):
and the way we cater to patientsis to be a little more patients
seamless in that process andalso to attract, you know,
(06:28):
outside of the older populationto also attract younger people
to see the need for running.
You know, coming into the seeinga cardiologist and you know
running a test that they need torun are more associated to
preventive care.
You know things like your bloodpressure, the silent killers, I
call them.
Things like your blood pressure, you know, if there's a
(06:50):
blockage in your heart and chestpain, these things are easily
ignored and unfortunately it'shappened so often amongst young
people and we want to be able tocreate an environment where
people can come in and knowwhat's really going on with
themselves instead of having topush those symptoms away and
hope that everything will justwork out fine.
Dr Andrew Greenland (07:12):
Got it, and specifically millennials.
What are they doing to changethe way you approach care in
your practice?
Eli Anyadi (07:22):
Yes, with regards to millennials.
The thing about millennials isthat and I'm thinking back to a
patient we recently had, not solong ago so one of the things
that we have tried to dodifferently is to so one of the
tools we employed was a companywe call Frazier, so what they do
(07:46):
is they give patients theopportunity to do pre-check-ins
before they come into the office, so that we can reduce the wait
times.
I feel like they don'tmillennials don't have the
patience to wait in a doctor'soffice for too long, and so one
of the ways we've tried to curbthat or take that away or reduce
(08:07):
the patient wait time is tointroduce pre-check-ins, which
have been effective in ourapproach to millennials.
Another way I think millennialshave changed the way we do
things is also our onlinepresence.
Millennials are going, arefinding a lot of things online,
(08:34):
especially social media, eitherTikTok and Instagram and so we
want to be able to create anonline presence where we have
patients who can not only beeducated.
We want to be able to createsome kind of trust with our
physicians so that if there'sany need for medical attention,
(08:54):
we would be the ones they wouldrecommend or want to be a part
of.
It was surprising, dr Greenland.
You know, even when I first hadmy first child, my daughter, I
found myself going back on theinternet, always researching,
looking for other ways to try,and she had a cough or she had a
(09:16):
cold and, surprisingly, anyinformation I found, I referred
it back to our pediatrician andasked if this was okay.
But this is what's happening alot of the time.
You know, social media isinforming a lot of our
millennials with regards tohealth care, and so you want to
(09:37):
be able to take advantage ofthat and create a presence where
people can trust you and theinformation you give.
So if our physician says, hey,for this condition, condition,
you need to see a doctor, thenthey listen, but outside of that
, it's they, they rather not,they'll, rather not come in at
all, you know, and so that's oneway many of us are affecting
(09:58):
the way we approach our healthcare amazing so you've talked
about pre-check-ins.
Dr Andrew Greenland (10:04):
You've talked about some AI tools.
Are the AI tools to help yourpractice be more efficient?
Was there anything there thatkind of specifically benefits
the patients that areinterfacing with you?
Eli Anyadi (10:14):
Yes, so yes, it's to make the patients more
efficient.
So, like I said, like I saidbefore, the AI tool that helps
us do the pre-checkingsignificantly cuts down patient
wait times.
Another tool we have employedis this is with Quadrant
Healthcare, this is with ourphone calls.
(10:35):
We want every phone call thatcomes through our office.
We don't want to miss any phonecalls, and so they have an
interactive face with an AIpersona, and this AI persona
takes all the information theyneed.
They are able to scheduleappointments even without
talking to anyone at the frontdecks, and so, in real time,
(10:59):
they are able to make all thesechanges without having to wait
longer than they should, and sothat really helps us as well as
a practice.
Dr Andrew Greenland (11:11):
Interesting , and what sort of feedback do
your patients give you?
I mean, are you meeting theirneeds with the various things
that you put into place, or theyhave other things that they're
also demanding of you going intothe future?
Eli Anyadi (11:25):
So the feedback has been great.
Honestly, I feel like you know,with millennials, one of the
things that another thing Ididn't mention was transparency.
You know they want to be ableto have to know what they're
getting into all of theinformation before they even
(11:46):
step into the doctor's office,and so that's part of the tools
that we have created, especiallywith our online presence, is to
put out there exactly what weare really good at, why you
should be in the doctor's officeand things and things like that
.
That helps to inform umpatients and your decision to
(12:07):
come to see um you know, or cometo your practice or to come to
your office.
Also because they feel like um,the more you speak about a
topic, you might have somecommando or you might have some
um for lack of a better word youmight have some authority over
that particular topic, and sothey're more likely to come to
your office.
But yes, to answer your question, um, we have had um great
(12:31):
success with with our approach.
We've seen patient wait timesreduce and um, we've also seen
that um patients are a littlemore relaxed when they come into
the office.
They are not as nervous orPatients are a little more
relaxed when they come into theoffice.
They are not as nervous or theyare not as cringy, if I should
say, to see a doctor, becausethey already know what to expect
.
They already know what to walkinto because of the online
(12:53):
process we create Brilliant.
Dr Andrew Greenland (12:56):
I mean, do you know what your sort of
competition is doing?
Is this the things that youoffer, something that draws
patients towards your practicespecifically, or is everybody in
your niche trying to kind of dosimilar things?
Eli Anyadi (13:09):
um, so it is.
I would say this, though it'snot, I don't, I don't, I didn't
totally believe that everypractice is doing the same
things we're doing.
I think that, um, and and drgreenland, I'll tell you so it
also really depends on thephysicians you have.
I know a lot of practices havebeen in assistance way before
(13:33):
ours, but it takes a lot ofadoption to get into all these
AI tools, and especially whenyou have a physician that has
done it the traditional way forso long.
For example, we also have ascribing AI tool we use that
helps our physicians write outtheir notes.
(13:57):
It also suggests ICD codes forevery diagnosis and by the time
you're done with the patient,their notes are ready for
billing.
But unfortunately, before all ofthis even happened, physicians
had to take their code books,look at trace which diagnosis
goes with what, and I feel likeif you don't have a practice,
(14:21):
that is, physicians that arewilling to adapt to this new
change, that can be verychallenging.
And fortunately, that's thestory of many, many other
practices, especially incardiology.
Cardiology has always cateredto older people, and so you have
physicians who have been inpractice for so long but are not
willing to adapt to the change.
But we are doing thatdifferently.
(14:43):
We want to be able to.
We are seeing that a lot ofyoung people, especially with
preventive care, a lot of youngpeople are having things like
high blood pressure.
A lot of young people are goingaround with pain, chest pains,
and they're just ignoring it andnot realizing how important it
is for them to have that checkedout.
And so we want to attract thosepeople to our practice, not
(15:06):
just the ones who are older andare obviously going through.
You know obvious symptoms likeshortness of breath and things
like that.
So that's how different we arein our children, amazing.
Dr Andrew Greenland (15:20):
And do you think this?
Presumably this benefits allpatients, not just millennials,
and you finding that patients ofall age groups are appreciating
the additional things thatyou're putting into place to
make their experience better, oris it more these people who are
time pressured haven't got timeto sit in waiting rooms and all
this kind of thing that arereally noticing?
Eli Anyadi (15:40):
I would say it was a challenge initially, especially
coming back to the pre-check-in, because a lot of our older
patients don't have or are nottech savvy, and so typically
what will happen is they willget a link, a text, and that
text has a link that sends themdirectly to the platform for
(16:02):
them to answer a few questionsand then they get checked in.
But I can tell you, a largepopulation of older people don't
even have mobile phones to evenreceive those texts.
It either comes from a guardianor a caretaker or a child who
(16:24):
is older and tech-savvy enoughto navigate our platforms, and
so initially it was difficult.
You would still have patientscome in and still want to do
everything through paperwork,and so that was the challenge we
initially faced.
But with time I'm clearlyseeing that everyone is
(16:51):
adjusting to the way things aredone.
One of the things we also do iswe have days where we just
solely cater to telehealthappointments, and so patients
don't have to come into theoffice.
If they are just following upfor test results, they can do a
telehealth appointment with us,and I can tell you patients
(17:12):
would rather see the doctor'sface and hear him speak directly
than over a video call.
And so all of these changes comewith its challenges and trying
to convince patients.
But it's a slow adoption, but Ithink that it's definitely made
on our end.
It's definitely made ourpatients very seamless, and I
(17:35):
think that a lot of millennialsappreciate that they are still
able to.
They don't have to cancel a dayat to cancel at days, um, you
know, they don't have to cancela day at work to get the
appointments taken care of.
They can take a lunch break anddo a telehealth appointment and
still be at work.
And so, um, yes, it favors somegroups and it doesn't favor the
(17:57):
others, but, um, we, we still,we still are open to patients
coming into the office.
We haven't totally taken thatout of the picture, and so I
guess we're just trying to finda fine balance as we slowly
introduce all these ai toolsreally interesting.
Dr Andrew Greenland (18:14):
So you paint a very interesting
dichotomy of we all think youknow technological,
technological shifts are helpingall of our patients but, like
you said, the ones that aren'ttech savvy, that don't have the
kit or the phones they couldvery easily get excluded in this
massive technological advance.
And really interesting youpoint that out and you can still
cater for both and keep bothgroups happy.
(18:35):
That's really reallyinteresting to learn.
Is there anything else that'sbeen frustrating or challenging?
And obviously you've just beentalking about that side of
things, but is there anythingelse frustrating or challenging
in the work that you do?
Eli Anyadi (18:51):
Well, a lot of.
Like I said, my main focus andmy main aim as a practice
administrative manager is tomake sure that all of my
clinicians, right from the MAsto the physicians, are solely
focused on their clinical work,and so when I come up with new
(19:15):
ideas to try and make their workseamless, it's always
especially with the olderphysicians it's always a slow
adoption.
So that in itself is a challenge.
I'm always thinking as amillennial myself.
I'm always thinking of new waysto do old things, and so I'm
slowly weaving off thetraditional ways we cater to our
(19:40):
patients into new ways of doingthem, and so and also, of
course, in the new ways of doingthem that generates new revenue
for the practice.
But the only major challenge, Iwould say, is the adaptions to
these new technologies and newprocesses as well.
So it has always been thatearly adaption, but it's a work
(20:04):
in progress.
We can't say it's gonna justeveryone is going to
automatically embrace it, but Iwould say that with time, you
know, as the world in itself ischanging as well, so our hands
are tied anyway.
Dr Andrew Greenland (20:19):
Actually interesting.
So we've talked about and someof the resistance from perhaps
older patients.
But you have any kickback fromyour, from your colleagues, your
medical colleagues, witheverything, with anything
technological, or they very dothey embrace these sort of
changes and tools that you'rebringing in um, we've had some
kickbacks.
Eli Anyadi (20:39):
Um, we have, we've had some kickbacks only because,
um, you know, we've had somekickbacks only because, you know
, the one thing that we see wehear physicians repeatedly say
is that, you know, we prefer todo things the old way, we prefer
to do the things the way weknow them to be, you know, and
(21:00):
so on.
Also because even with medicinein itself and the way they were
trained in the practice, theydon't do as much billing and
they don't do as much.
And the thing is, this is aprivate practice.
If you're in a hospital, youhave departments that are solely
catered to a lot of thesethings, but in the private
(21:22):
practice you are sort of forcedto do every other thing.
Especially as a physician, youhave to make sure your notes are
completed, you're using theright ICD codes so that you
prepare them for billing as well.
But if you're in a biggersetting, you might have other
(21:42):
people doing that work for you,and so in my work of space,
working in private practice,physicians are not just focused
on completing the notes, butthey're doing other things to
make sure that revenue comesinto the practice, and I feel
like that's where all these newtechnologies come in and so they
(22:03):
have to adjust.
Apart from focus yeah, yeah,they care they give to patients
they also have to think outsidethe box and do things outside of
their, their norm to make surethat you know things are
probably taken care ofinteresting and do they embrace
that challenge?
Dr Andrew Greenland (22:18):
or are they solely focused on the clinical
and find these things sort ofextras that they're just having
to do?
Eli Anyadi (22:24):
um, they embrace the challenge.
I I can.
I can say that for sure, um,because the way I sell it to
them is you know, if you're ableto get your notes done within a
day or within a few minuteswith an ai scriber, you don't
have to take work back home.
You have a perfect work balance, because we're finding that a
(22:47):
lot of physicians will see allof your patients and then make
little notes and then take workback home to complete those
notes, and I don't think that'sa good, efficient use of their
time, as busy as they are, andso they like the idea that I can
(23:07):
get all of this done in a dayand I don't have to worry about
going back home and completingnotes, and maybe I try to
remember the things that theinteraction that I have with my
patients, so in real timethey're able to do the work they
need to do, and so they have agood work balance for themselves
as well do and so they have agood work balance for themselves
as well.
Dr Andrew Greenland (23:25):
Got it Well in terms of your management
capacity.
You must have some particularmetrics that you track to get
some sense of your practice andhow it's performing.
What are the things that youmost focus on, and is there
anything in particular thatyou're most focused on and
trying to improve?
Eli Anyadi (23:40):
Yes, so with regards to metrics, so on my end, every
Friday, I generate reports thatI typically look at.
One of them is what I call openencounters.
I have to make sure that everyvisit or every doctor's visit
(24:02):
that was made has been, thosepatients have been checked out.
Because we are private practice, we are largely dependent on
our patients returning back, sowe want to make sure that
patients and also because of thequality of care we want to give
to our patients, I have to makesure that all of them, our
patients, have been checked out,they've been given their
follow-up appointments and alsothe tests that they need to get
(24:25):
done have already been scheduled.
We don't want patients fallingthrough the cracks in regards to
their care and also in regardsto the follow-up they need with
the doctors, and so that's thefirst thing I make sure to check
, and so that helps us givepatients the quality care that
they need, and also it helpspatients and also we are able to
(24:48):
properly monitor how wellthey're doing and make sure that
they're getting the care thatthey need.
The other thing, so there aredifferent facets of it, so the
other thing to it is billing aswell.
Like I said before, making surethat you know billing as well,
like I said before, making surethat you know the doctors are
using the right codes, icd codes.
I'm with my billing team aswell, which we outsource, and
(25:10):
what they do for me is theyshare with me all the claims
that have been denied and whythey have been denied, and what
I do is to gather all thatinformation, go back and see is
this because we are not puttingin the insurances the right way?
Is this because we are notusing the right codes?
Is this because the doctor'snotes are not sufficient enough
(25:32):
to warrant a payment from theinsurance companies?
And so, to add to that, there'sa wide range of things I am
looking at, but these are thetwo main things that I am
focused on how we're caring forour patients with regards to if
they're getting the rightappointments, and how we are
billing as well with regards torevenue that's coming to the
(25:54):
office.
Dr Andrew Greenland (25:55):
Interesting .
So I've had many, manyconversations with North
American practices and billingseems to be a sort of universal
bugbear.
Have you found a magic bulletto solve the whole billing
headaches that your practice has?
Are there particular thingsthat always seem to crop up that
you've managed to solve, or isit like everybody else?
It's one of these things thateverybody has to kind of grind
(26:15):
away at, you know, day in, dayout.
Just asking.
Eli Anyadi (26:22):
Yeah, so there is a varied range of things that
could be done differently and,like you rightly said, in North
America, unfortunately, there'salways things always changing
and so you have to be abreastwith what's current and what
needs to and how you can quicklyadapt to those things.
But I will tell you that I thinkone thing that has really
helped us what's current andwhen and what needs to and how
(26:42):
you can quickly adopt to thosethings.
But I'll tell you that I thinkone thing that has really helped
us is with the use of um in ourscribing, making sure that we
have our notes complete and thecodes that are properly used for
each diagnosis, because if youuse the right, the wrong codes,
you can be sure that you'regetting back a denial, and so
(27:03):
that has been one way we'vedealt with billing.
And also I am also really bigon what we call eligibility or
verifications.
You always want to make surethat every patient that walks
through that door you are in Inetwork with your insurance
company and they are eligiblefor the service that you're
(27:24):
receiving.
Without that, you can be surethe insurance companies are
going to be sending back adenial, and so those are ways
that we have successfully beenable to, you know, at least
reduce the number of claims anddenied claims we received to to
a single digit, instead ofhaving to have so many of them
(27:46):
come back.
Because?
Dr Andrew Greenland (27:47):
because, because of little things that we
could have changed, so where doyou want to be with
metropolitan cardiovascular inthe next six to twelve months?
Have you got any sort ofshort-term things that you're
trying to do with the practice?
Eli Anyadi (28:01):
Yes, 60, yes, so I'd say in about six months.
So we want to be able to.
My focus is my focus, to beprecise is to to find new
revenue streams for the practiceso the practice can grow.
We want to be able to expandinto different offices or
(28:22):
different locations, I shouldsay, because, especially during
COVID, one of the things wefound was that a lot of
practices did not survivebecause of the revenue that was
coming in, and so now that we'vegone past that phase, for any
practice to make its mark or toexist, it's really just the
(28:47):
revenue that's coming in, and somy focus and my passion has to
be able to increase the revenueand in doing so, that also makes
our workflow seamless.
Our workflow seamless and, ofcourse, our patient care also is
(29:08):
not neglected, but it's alsofocused on in the process.
So, yes, in the next six monthswe are looking to grow in as a
practice.
Dr Andrew Greenland (29:12):
In a nutshell, Nice and are you at
capacity?
I mean in terms of you talkabout growth.
I mean, do you need anotherlocation to get additional
capacity or the location youhave at the moment pretty maxed
out?
Eli Anyadi (29:28):
So, yes, the location at the moment is, I
wouldn't say, maxed out.
There's always room forimprovement.
We could always entertain, wecould always welcome some more
patients.
But, with regards to growth,would mean also having having
more physicians on board,because of course the workload
for a physician in, in, in oneof our locations is we don't
(29:53):
want to wear and tear ourphysicians out and so that they
get too tired to be able tocater for our patients.
So, but that also means thatyou have to have revenue coming
in, and so when we are able toemploy more physicians in the
medical group, then that's whenwe will see a lot of different
(30:15):
locations spring up.
Dr Andrew Greenland (30:17):
Got it.
I was gonna ask if you had asort of massive increase in
referrals in the next two orthree months, what will be the
first thing to break?
I guess, from what you'resaying, it's probably fatigue
from your physicians in terms ofthe workload.
That'd be right, or there'd beother things that would break.
Eli Anyadi (30:37):
So, apart from fatigue, let's see the things
that we could break would be.
I would say, as well, maybe Iwould say that.
Well, now that I think about it, I think that's what I would be
(30:59):
.
The only thing that would be areal problem if we had a lot
more referrals coming in.
It would just be the workloadon the physicians.
But if they have the help thatthey're receiving, then that
should make it a lot easier.
And again, that's why a lot ofthese AI employee tools makes it
(31:19):
a lot easier for the physiciansto do their work without having
to feel stressed out.
Dr Andrew Greenland (31:25):
Got it.
So if you could solve one majorchallenge today, whether that
be in your practice metropos andcardiovascular or more widely
in this speciality, what wouldit be?
Eli Anyadi (31:39):
I would say it would be the.
I would say it would be the.
I would say it would be thewait time.
You know, for in cardiology Idon't know how it is like in
other specialties, but patientswalk in very nervous and anxious
because they always they wantto know what's going on with
their heart and I think thatpeople, a lot of patients, have
(32:02):
a preconceived notion about youknow, of course, um, and I think
we all do anything that has todo with the heart can be very
complicated.
So nobody, people, don't playaround with your visits to the,
to the, to the heart doctor, um,and so we in turn have to
create an environment wherepatients come in and are more
comfortable and are okay, youare comfortable to see the
(32:25):
doctor, they have confidence inthe tests they are doing and in
the information and the resultsthey are receiving as well.
So one of the ways we do thatis to reduce the wait times that
we have.
If there's one thing I wouldreally like to work on, would be
the wait times that we have.
If there's one thing I wouldreally like to work on, would be
the wait times.
We don't want patients havingto come in and be anxious and
(32:51):
sit out in the lobby and notknow when next the appointment
is, when they're going to beseen, and also, when I talk
about wait time, I'm not onlytalking about waiting in the
lobby, but I'm also talkingabout how soon they can come in
to get their test results, howsoon they can be seen when it's
an emergency, how soon ourdoctors can attend to them,
because I feel like the longerthey wait to have to see the
(33:12):
doctor, the more the anxietyincreases, and that's not a good
thing for the patients as well.
Dr Andrew Greenland (33:18):
I understand, I understand.
And finally, what do you thinkthe ideal patient experience
will look like in five yearstime?
It might just be the one you'retrying to create locally in
your practice or more widely, inthe country.
Eli Anyadi (33:41):
What do you think?
It might look to be verydifferent, in the sense that
health care has become verysensitive and patients have
become very sensitive as well.
Like I said, a lot ofinformation is out there on the
Internet and on social media,and this is what's informing a
(34:02):
lot of our patients instead ofcoming directly to a doctor's
office.
So, in the global perspective,I feel like doctors are going to
have to move from their decks,or even from their practice,
into creating another, inanother sense, another practice
(34:26):
on their social medias andonline, so that the information
that patients are looking forare catered to as well.
In that sense, there might bepatients who will never come to
a doctor's office, but mayreceive well good information
that they need, you know, whilstthey do their research online,
and so patient experience willdiffer, I feel like with the
(34:53):
introduction of AI as well.
You know, I per se, I for one,like to be able to see my doctor
and have that.
There's a certain kind ofconnection you make seeing your
doctor physically instead ofhaving to do this all, for
example, over telehealth andthings like that.
So, um, but it really dependson the generation.
(35:13):
You know, millennials willdon't mind doing that.
But older folks would want tobe able to talk to the doctors,
because I I've had someinteraction with our patients
outside of just what they'recoming in for.
You know they talk about theirgrandkids, they talk about their
children, and that's what Ifear will be missing in the next
few years.
You know that, just thatinteraction with patients, not
(35:37):
just about the medical but aboutyour whole life, you know
patients like to express,express, and you'll find out
that a lot of the things thatare happening outside, in your,
in your, in your life, um iswhat may be um affecting the way
, the way the symptoms they haveor the problems they really
have.
You know we have patients whocome in who are already
(35:57):
heartbroken and uh, and thataffects your heart as well, you
know.
So, unfortunately, we areslowly moving from that and that
could be a problem, but to somethat could also be what they
need to.
In the fast-paced world that weare in now, in this microwave
world we are in now, that mightbe just what they need as well.
(36:17):
So it really depends on who isreceiving that care.
Dr Andrew Greenland (36:21):
Got it, Eli .
Thank you so much for your timethis afternoon.
Really fantastic insights,Really interesting to hear.
I'm sure what you said willreally connect with the whole
people's perspective on theevolving patient journey.
Really interesting to hearabout what you do at
Metropolitan Cardiovascular andyou'll really have a finger on
the pulse of obviously managinga busy practice but also the
(36:42):
patient experience.
So thank you so much for yourtime.
Really appreciate it.
Eli Anyadi (36:47):
You're welcome.
You're welcome.
I'm glad to be on this podcastas well.
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