Piedmont ENT Carries on Tradition of Experience and Quality
Piedmont ENT, an established 40-year-old practice in Buckhead, joined the SENTA affiliation one year ago. These four doctor profiles bring a sense of the high quality and innovative care on which the practice has built its reputation.
Dr. Coleman
Support When and Where It Was Needed
John Coleman, Jr., MD, began to see the potential in joining SENTA Partners shortly after the first meeting the doctors had with the organization. “I saw multiple advantages, particularly in the HR support and the ability to relieve some of the headaches of managing a practice,” he says. The timing was also good; while the practice was becoming busy again, managing a practice in a pandemic environment was still stressful. But what he did not envision at the time was the innovation in infrastructure and support that SENTA would bring. For example, the Phreesia customized patient intake software has just been installed, saving staff time and creating a more organized patient intake process. Earlier this year, SENTA had installed the Brevium system that pulls information from the electronic medical records system every night to identify patients who are due for care because of an earlier missed or cancelled appointment. These efforts to simplify the process for patients, reach out to patients who might otherwise be lost to follow up and marketing campaigns to help reach new patients are all fueling the location’s growth, Dr. Coleman says.
In addition, he has been impressed with the “world-class team that Adam [Low] has built. I’ve enjoyed watching the growth of the SENTA team. That has reinforced our decision that this was a good move for us going forward.” He also appreciates that more of his time can be focused on patient care and practice development versus the tasks and responsibilities of being one of a team of owners, he says.
Dr. Rollins
Greater Awareness
Chester Rollins, MD, an otolaryngologist, says that while patient awareness about nasal and sinus allergies has increased, the access to medical information is a double-edged sword. “It’s challenging for patients to gauge whether the information they find online is right in the middle of the lane or if they are off on a fringe target,” he says. Over the years, he has seen his role expand from the realm of the surgical center to more chronic disease management.
That’s a patient care philosophy that was passed to him from one of the founding physicians, James Carter, MD. “Dr. Carter’s teaching was to advocate for the patient’s best interest,” says Dr. Rollins. Sometimes, the treatment pathway that’s best for the patient does not result in the highest financial gain for the practice—but that view would be short-sighted, he says. “These patients will result in greater downstream revenue. Some of my happiest patients are the ones who were managed most simply. They send me multiple referrals and talk about us because we found a way to help them perhaps without doing surgery. We need to treat our primary customer—our patient—like we would our own grandma.”
Dr. Rollins says that the addition of conscious (moderate) sedation in the in-office surgical suite will be a bonus for patients and surgeons, too. “We’ve had the surgical suite for a few years, but we have a higher degree of support in there now. Being able to offer conscious sedation for sphenoid or Eustachian procedures will make patients more comfortable. For surgeons, it’s a benefit to be able to focus on the procedure without having to be concerned that we’re hurting the patients,” he says.
Dr. Chin
Finding the Best Approach
Kingsley N. Chin, MD, a rhinology specialist, says he has become a conservative surgeon when it comes to recommending sinus surgery. Although he trained under Dr. David Kennedy—the father of endoscopic sinus surgery—he began to wonder why a number of his patients’ presurgical issues returned or were not fully resolved. “Seeing my failures was my aha! moment,” he says, when he began looking for other factors. What he found was that many of his patients had underlying allergies or dental issues. If these issues were treated first, his outcomes improved. He would recommend that patients undergo a comprehensive allergy evaluation that would include taking a detailed environmental history (mold in the home, for example) and a detailed dental history such as previous root canals. “The bacteria that are most often involved in dental issues don’t grow on the sinus cultures we use,” he says. This has led us to use DNA sequencing testing that identified the offending bacterias. So a patient could have dental infections that impact the sinuses—but if the dental issues are not addressed, the sinus procedures will have short-term impact. Dr. Chin has developed a strong referral network with dentists and dental specialty groups. “The referrals flow both ways,” he says. He enjoys sleuthing out what might be causing a patient’s recurring issues. “It’s like being a private detective. It’s challenging but very rewarding.”
Dr. Hoffmann
Evolving Treatments
Karen Hoffmann, MD, was one of the top investigators in the national multicenter clinical trial for FDA approval of balloon Eustachian tuboplasty. Now that balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube has a new procedure code and coverage from Medicare and some private insurance carriers, Dr. Hoffman expects this relatively new procedure to become an attractive alternative for many patients. A balloon is inserted through the nose and into the Eustachian tube, where it is dilated and held for precisely two minutes. Afterward, most people find that they can equalize the pressure—or pop their ears—a little more easily. For airplane travelers, that can be much more comfortable, with less pain, fullness and hearing loss. “The alternative is inserting tubes, but that’s often temporary and doesn’t address the site of inflammation in the Eustachian tube,” she says.
Dr. Hoffmann is using her expertise to instruct other surgeons on this procedure, as well as the anesthesia protocols she uses in the in-office surgical suite in the Piedmont ENT office. “Being able to do more procedures in the office, rather than in an OR in a hospital, gives us more flexibility and control over the schedule,” she says. The location will be offering conscious (moderate) sedation for procedures soon.
Dr. Jarboe
A Wide Range
In addition to the traditional full range of ENT surgical and consultative services, John Jarboe, MD, is a specialist in voice issues. A singer himself, he completed a fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School in voice problems. Many vocal cord issues stem from overuse, especially among singers and actors. Cancers and reflux issues are other common contributors to vocal cord problems. For some, surgical options or medication are the way to go, but voice therapy—essentially physical therapy for the vocal cords—can be helpful, too, he says.
Dr. Jarboe says that his time in the military is what led him to an ENT specialty. He joined the U.S. Air Force after medical school, and as a flight surgeon with a B-52 bomber squadron at Barksdale AFB, he says he was intrigued by the hearing loss and breathing problems that affected many military pilots.
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