The Broken Healthcare Podcast featured Keith Pinter, CEO of AristaMD, as a guest to discuss how simplifying access to specialty care starts with strengthening the primary care relationship with seniors.
“As we’re younger, we take more risks. We’ll search out things on our own. And we’re comfortable being in the wild, left to fend for ourselves. As we get older, we’re not as comfortable.” Keith emphasizes how primary care physicians (PCPs) serve as the center of care, particularly for seniors who rely on a trusted primary care relationship to navigate complex healthcare systems. When access barriers exist, the impact on both outcomes and costs multiplies exponentially.
“I trust my primary care, usually because I’ve worked with them for a period of time.”
This trust serves as the foundation for simplified access to specialty care. Keith explains how a strong primary care relationship naturally streamlines the entire care journey, improving outcomes while managing costs through coordinated care.
“The senior population trusts their PCP because they know them. This is the doctor who takes the time to listen to their health concerns. That genuine relationship and trust gives the patient confidence. When the PCP refers, the patient is confident. What we solve for is patient care, starting with the PCP. The patient-PCP relationship is based on trust. When the PCP recommends specialist guidance in any form, the patient is confident.”
When we reach the point where we’re supposed to be enjoying life in our retirement years, the utilization of healthcare increases dramatically. Older patients often have more comorbidities and greater healthcare needs that necessitate specialist care. When the need arises, it’s challenging to get an appointment. The wait times are long; driving may be an issue. When the patient arrives at the appointment, the specialist sends them for tests at a different time and location. After the patient receives the test, they head back to the specialist. It can be weeks or months before the specialist sees the patient again. The process is expensive, it’s complicated, and it creates a lot of anxiety for the patient.
Based on the condition, the PCP will typically start with AristaMD’s peer-to-peer eConsult. In just a few clicks within the EMR, the patient’s condition and chart are sent to our nurses, who craft the eConsult for a specialist to review. The PCP hears back from the specialist within a day, with guidance on whether the patient requires an in-person visit or additional testing. If not, the specialist sends a diagnosis and treatment plan for the PCP to manage. This service eliminates 50-75% of referrals. Plus, our specialists enhance the impact by providing a short-term care plan to help patients manage the condition while waiting for the in-person appointment. This keeps patients out of the ED while reducing patient anxiety.
AristaMD makes it easy to do an eConsult behind the scenes with the PCP. Then, for one-third of patients who need to see a specialist, the eConsult will indicate to the PCP whether telehealth is appropriate. The next step is simple. The PCP refers these patients to AristaMD for a virtual visit, where patients have access to high-quality specialists directly through the PCP they trust. It’s all white-labeled because AristaMD believes in empowering PCPs with the tools and data they need to provide and manage care within the time they have available.
With a couple of hundred specialists working across the country, AristaMD is able to get back to the PCP within a day, answering questions like, ‘Does the patient really need to see a specialist? What does the evidence say about additional testing? Can the PCP diagnose and treat the patient? Which medications or treatments are most appropriate given the patient’s comorbidities?’
By positioning the PCP as the center of care, AristaMD creates a model that simplifies access to specialty care through trusted referrals, leading to better outcomes and more efficient cost management for the senior population.
Keith Pinter
Chief Executive Officer
Keith Pinter is a change agent and growth-oriented leader with a passion for healthcare and technology. With over two decades of experience in the healthcare provider and technology sectors, Keith has a proven track record of delivering innovative solutions that improve clinical outcomes and patient care. Keith started his career in technology, building, buying and selling businesses. He then transitioned to healthcare with a mission to bend the healthcare cost curve backward. He co-founded Rise Health, a technology-enabled, value-based primary care aggregation platform. As CEO at Rise Health, Keith led the development of a global risk primary care platform acquisition enterprise, delivering innovative solutions to the healthcare industry.
Prior to his work at Rise Health, Keith served as chief operating officer/ chief of staff for Envision Physician Services, where he was instrumental in growing the organization from $800 million to $6 billion. He was also part of the leadership team that transformed the third-largest publicly traded hospital system into an industry leader in innovation. Keith currently serves on the boards of several healthcare companies, including Moterum Technologies and Prosper RCM Solutions. He has also served on the boards of Cliexa and Accolite, where he was instrumental in the company’s growth and successful mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions. Recognized as 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year by Health Insights, Keith is a visionary leader with a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and a passion for driving change. He is committed to improving clinical and business outcomes through technology enablement and is particularly interested in novel treatment approaches for neurodegenerative diseases after losing his father.
Keith Pinter
Chief Executive Officer
Keith Pinter is a growth-oriented change leader with two decades of proven results in the healthcare provider and technology sectors, with a history of serving as a strategic catalyst for change, driven to improve clinical and business outcomes via technology enablement, with success transitioning fee-for-service healthcare operations into value-based care/global risk.
Keith started his career in technology, building, buying, and selling businesses. He then transitioned to healthcare with a mission to bend the healthcare cost curve backward. He co-founded Rise Health, a technology-enabled, value-based primary care aggregator which secured a 9-figured funding commitment in 2022. As CEO at Rise Health, Keith led the development of a global risk primary care platform acquisition enterprise, acquiring FFS PCP practices in the southwest and successfully transitioning them into global risk with a substantial reduction in MLR and increase in clinician and patient NPS.
Prior to his work at Rise Health, Keith served as chief operating officer/ chief of staff for Envision Physician Services, where he was instrumental in growing the organization from $800 million to $6 billion. He was also part of the leadership team that transformed the third-largest publicly traded hospital system into an industry leader in innovation. Keith currently serves on the boards of several healthcare companies, including Moterum Technologies and Prosper RCM Solutions, previously serving on the American College of Healthcare Executives board as the CEO liaison for the western region as well as chairing the University of Miami’s Data Science board. Recognized as 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year by Health Insights, Keith is a visionary leader with a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and a passion for developing a new service delivery paradigm.