A new brand of doctor targets the unhealthy in rural Tennessee

Brent Staton, a primary care physician in Cookeville, heads an organization called Cumberland Center for Healthcare Innovation, a network of affiliated, independent doctors in small towns and rural counties around the state.  But what it is, is a band of primary care doctors in about 50 counties across Tennessee who want to collaborate as a way to sustain their independence in changing the health care system — and as a path to making their patients, and communities, healthier. It’s an operational umbrella that provides lots — and lots — of data, contracting support and ideas on how to comply with increasingly complex quality standards facing physicians. It’s doctor-run, which is part of the appeal to insurers who are trying to control costs, as well as to patients who are looking for a doctor-patient relationship. It’s also one of the reasons why the organization has a shot at being successful at a model that others have struggled to make work.