Primary-care companies cut costs through preventive models

For most Americans, it's not easy to schedule an appointment to see a primary-care physician or speak to one by phone. When patients can get in for a visit with a doctor, they're lucky to get 15 minutes of their time.That's not the case at a JenCare primary-care center in Chicago's South Side Ashburn neighborhood. Executives for JenCare and its parent, ChenMed, urge doctors and staff to get their senior patients in often and spend as much time as they need with them. Patients there average more than three hours of face time a year with their primary-care doctor.“Ask yourself, am I seeing patients frequently enough?” Dr. Gordon Chen, chief medical officer of Miami-based ChenMed, told the company's more than 200 doctors and care coordinators across the country during a video.