The relationship between a patient and primary care physician is paramount to individual wellness, and is the foundation of health care reform. It too is where the MDclick story begins – a relationship between an experienced health care professional and his patient.

Dr. Thomas Bellavia has been a physician for over four decades and over that period witnessed many changes in the medical profession. One thing that has not changed is the need for the primary care physician to build a bond with a patient and for the patient to be a partner in health care decisions. The bond that Dr. Bellavia had with one of his patients, Jasper Chaffin, led the two men to launch MDclick.  Chaffin, a Wall Street IT professional and entrepreneur, sensed an opportunity to harness the power of Internet technology to improve the delivery of health care. Knowing his physician’s interest in health care innovation, Chaffin broached the subject with Dr. Bellavia during an appointment. The two men began to think creatively about the issue of lowering health care costs without sacrificing patient care, and strengthening the relationship with the primary care physician. At the time, Chaffin was in sales for an electronic medical records company and sold his first system to Dr. Bellavia, who is a true believer in providing patients access to their personal medical records.

Over time, Dr. Bellavia came to see the shortcomings of the product Chaffin’s company was selling and convinced his patient that the focus should be on disease management. Chaffin saw the wisdom of Dr. Bellavia’s perspective and began to conceptualize a disease management system that would be web based and generate cost savings for health care providers while improving patient care. The two men combined their individual expertise in 2005 and launched MDclick – an Internet based disease management solution that tracks referrals and provides real-time data to providers and patients. Not surprisingly given the origin of their collaboration, Dr. Bellavia and Jasper Chaffin made the primary care physician- patient relationship the foundation of MDclick. The two men were early adherents of the Patient Centered Medical Home model pioneered by Dr. Paul Grundy, chief medical officer at IBM.

Today, MDclick is at the forefront of health care reform. The company has introduced a solution for the new pay-for-performance environment that will enable providers to lower costs, target care, generate revenue and meet the metrics new reform measures require. The founders of MDclick want to restore the public’s confidence in the primary care delivery system and give physicians and patients the tools to make informed decisions, with accurate data and in real-time, and aimed at reducing the incidence of chronic diseases. The real benefit is to the public, as MDclick helps lower costs, the resulting savings will be sufficient to insure every American.