Piedmont Internal Medicine Practice Joins Fauquier Health

Dr. William Simpson, Dr. Joseph David, Dr. Michelle Bell, Dr. Jae Lee, Dr. Kevin McCarthy and Dr. Demetrius Maoury, of Piedmont Internal Medicine in Warrenton.

Fauquier County’s largest primary care medical practice serving teens, adults and senior citizens – Piedmont Internal Medicine – has joined Fauquier Health Physician Services, a multi-specialty physicians group. Piedmont includes six internal medicine physicians: Dr. Michelle Bell, Dr. Joseph David, Dr. Jae Lee, Dr. Demetrius Maoury, Dr. Kevin McCarthy and Dr. William Simpson. The group decided to partner with Fauquier Health after many months of exploration, deliberation and negotiation.

Piedmont becomes the 11th medical practice in the network, and the third primary care practice. Fauquier Health Internal Medicine at Lake Manassas and Fauquier Health Family Practice at Bealeton are also members of the group. Specialists included in Fauquier Health Physician Services include: Fauquier Health Endocrinology, Fauquier Health General Surgery, Fauquier Health Hematology/Oncology, Fauquier Health Infectious Diseases, Fauquier Health Neurology, Fauquier Health OB/GYN, Fauquier Health Rheumatology and Fauquier Health Urology.

Despite the change in practice ownership, the approximately 14,000 patients currently served by Piedmont Internal Medicine should notice little if any change in their care. The doctors and support staff will remain unchanged. Piedmont Internal Medicine will retain its name; the hours of operation, location and phone numbers will not change. The practice’s executive director, Dr. Simpson, who has managed Piedmont Internal Medicine for more than 20 years, said, “The primary changes resulting from this merger with the Fauquier Health system will be limited to ‘behind the scenes’ administrative matters in the areas of purchasing, accounting, human resource management, payor contracts and software.”

Speaking on behalf of the partners, Dr. Simpson explained the reasons for the merger. “Practicing medicine requires a balance between caring for patients and managing the many outside forces that can interfere with that care. Over the past ten years, that balance has unfortunately been tipping more and more away from patient care. Practices nationwide are being forced to devote more and more resources toward administrative burdens, coming mainly from government and insurance industry demands. This takes time away from patient care. To help restore balance, many doctors are turning to their local health care systems, where there is strength, leverage and economies of scale. For example, one highly trained clerk, dedicated to tackling one major outside intrusion, can effectively assist an entire team of physicians, rather than each of the doctors having to address the problem independently.

By handing off most of this outside interference, we will be able to maintain -- and no doubt, enhance -- our primary focus on high-quality, comprehensive and compassionate patient care.”

Fauquier Health and Piedmont Internal Medicine have a long and successful history of working together in many areas, including: physician recruitment; strategic planning; facility expansion; electronic medical record development; medical staff and committee leadership; patient care at the Wound Healing Center; and clinical leadership of Employee Health, The Wellness Center, The Villa at Suffield Meadows and Fauquier Health Rehabilitation & Nursing Center.

Greg Bengston, Chief Operating Officer at Fauquier Health, said, “Fauquier Health is very pleased to take this ongoing partnership with Piedmont Internal Medicine to the next level. We look forward to expanding our primary care offerings with an established local practice that has successfully cared for area residents for many years.”

As part of Fauquier Health’s business strategy, it has acquired the Piedmont Professional Center, where Piedmont Internal Medicine is located. The building’s other occupants – including Fauquier Health Wellness Center and Northern Virginia Dermatology – will continue operations at their current locations as well.