EP 178: Doctors on a Mission: Physicians as Innovators in Healthcare - Part 2

In the second episode of our host Dr. Mike McManus together with our guest Dr. Joe Pazona, Joe recounted his transformative journey in healthcare, detailing the rise of his ventures, Virtue Care and Pazona, MD Urology. After hitting a low point in his career, a move to Nashville became a pivotal step, allowing him to immerse himself in a supportive environment that fostered his entrepreneurial spirit. Joining a private practice in 2019 marked his first foray into the business side of medicine, equipping him with invaluable insights.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a critical reassessment of his business model. Faced with new challenges, Dr. Pazona recalibrated his overhead costs, leading him to launch a new practice, which ultimately shuttered within a year. He candidly shared the difficulties he encountered in securing work due to family obligations and a scarcity of opportunities in other hospital systems, painting a vivid picture of resilience in the face of adversity. His journey reflects not only the trials of entrepreneurship in healthcare but also the tenacity required to navigate an ever-evolving landscape.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• How to ensure new ventures will align with both market needs and personal experiences

• Leveraging physician expertise to improve healthcare access.

• Building genuine connections, maintaining humility and curiosity for vital growth, and taking decisive action rather than succumbing to indecision.

• Bootstrapping and Resourcefulness

• Collective Action Among Physicians

About Dr. Joseph "Joe" Pazona

Joe creates jobs for burned-out healthcare professionals. He also helps frustrated healthcare administrators provide much-needed medical services in rural communities. Physicians and other healthcare professionals are leaving clinical medicine because they feel taken advantage of by a broken healthcare system. Simultaneously, rural healthcare executives are struggling to recruit high-quality physicians to their communities. Declining supply, increasing demand. This is not sustainable. The solution: prioritizing the healthcare team, leveraging technological solutions (e.g. telemedicine), and engaging in collaborative conversations with physicians and administrators.

As a physician-entrepreneur-CEO with over 15 years of experience caring for patients in rural, mid-size, and metropolitan markets, Joe understands the challenges and nuances of building a healthcare model and team to solve these issues. Before the pandemic, he formed VirtuCare, a company that partners with rural healthcare systems to implement outpatient urology clinics and surgical services. They have successfully launched services at 6 different sites across 4 healthcare systems. VirtuCare has created a new physician position of tele-urologist and offers consistent, remote work for urologists with a dynamic team.

In August 2020, Joe opened Pazona MD Urology in downtown Nashville during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with no previous business training. Within 3 years, the company has opened 2 additional offices and has recruited 6 advanced practice providers and an additional urologist all while receiving over 1000 5-star Google reviews. The mission is to scale into other specialties throughout Tennessee and additional markets as we deliver accessible healthcare with a smile.

Connect with Joe

• LinkedIn
• Email
• Virtucare
• Website

What to anticipate soon, stay tuned!

• Register to Join Mike's FREE Webinar this coming October 9th!
• Facebook Live: "Ask Me Anything" an interactive 30-minute question and answer session on a weekend morning coffee
• The Fortress Capital Investors Club Launch

Connect with us

If you’re a busy professional who wants to know more about growing your wealth through real estate, contact us at welcome@thefortresscapital.com | TheFortressCapital.com

• Website: Surgeon Syndicate
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• Facebook: Michael McManus