Genesis Medical Associates, INC

Providing optimal medical care during a healthcare pandemic

Genesis Medical Associates is an independent group of primary care physicians with practices located throughout the North Hills of Pittsburgh. The organization was founded in 1995, when six independent primary care practices came together with a singular vision of providing the highest quality healthcare.

Twenty six years later, they have flourished to include more than 20 physicians across eight practices. In addition to providing excellent primary care, Genesis offers laboratory, chiropractic, women’s health, cardiovascular, preventive medicine and pain management services.

Genesis physicians are committed to upholding their motto, “A Tradition of Quality Healthcare.” In spite of their busy schedules, they meet every Friday morning at 7 a.m. for several hours to discuss novel practices to improve healthcare outcomes of their patients. “We strive to keep our patients healthy by providing modern, preventive and cutting-edge medicine while still maintaining the traditional family physician feel and connection” says their President, Dr. Tad Scheri. Their success in this approach to family medicine is attested by the recent accolades of seven Genesis physicians in Pittsburgh magazine’s “Top Doctors” 2021 issue.

However, this past year has also had great struggles spawned by COVID-19. Genesis has navigated this pandemic using every resource at their disposal. Their providers tallied more than 180,000 total patient encounters in 2020. These encounters occurred not just in their medical offices but also in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, personal care homes, inpatient rehabilitation centers and even at patients’ residences. Caring for patients in whichever location they might find themselves in is a hallmark of Genesis patient care.

COVID-19 – Unforgettable

As for every person in the world, this year has been unlike any other for Genesis Medical Associates. The global healthcare pandemic has forced every business to reassess their model. Genesis is no different.

Western Pennsylvania has seen over 200,000 cases of COVID. Although more than 90% of those affected have successfully recovered, we have been ravaged by the deaths of over four thousand residents of Western Pennsylvania.

COVID has unfortunately targeted senior care facilities. As medical directors at more than ten senior facilities in Western Pennsylvania, Genesis has been forced to take the pandemic head on with innovative COVID management strategies.

People have needed to stay home to minimize the spread of the virus, but the need for essential medical care remains. Thankfully, telemedicine has helped bridge this void. Genesis has been on the forefront of telemedicine in Western Pennsylvania by being amongst the first to offer this service.

Telemedicine provides a novel and safe way to care for those socially distanced due to medical illness or COVID mandates.

What is quality care?

Quality in healthcare can be defined in many ways.

Genesis defines it as improving the quality of life of patients and their families at any status of health. From simple lifestyle changes like diet and exercise to more complex age appropriate cancer screenings or ongoing chronic disease state management – every measure that helps to prevent disease and stop disease progression is included in quality.

“It is a daunting task even for the most engaged patients to keep track of all the screenings and preventive measures that they are due for, and Genesis physicians are there to help them through every step of the way to ensure that they always stay compliant,” says Dr. Louis Heyl, one of the founding physicians of Genesis.

Genesis is one of the very few groups of primary care physicians which has a dedicated quality department consisting of nurses, pharmacists, health coordinators and quality advocates, who utilize modern healthcare tools like population health management and clinical data analytics software to make sure that every Genesis patient is up to date with all recommended screenings and receive the highest standard of quality care.

Accepting all medical insurances

The western Pennsylvania health care landscape has several dominant insurance companies including UPMC, Aetna, Highmark, Cigna and Medicare. Caring for patients across all medical insurance carriers is fundamental to Genesis.

A job change may often mean a different insurance carrier – but it doesn’t have to involve breaking an established relationship with your primary care doctor, if your doctor’s office accepts all insurances.

Physician recognition

Genesis physicians have been recognized by UPMC, United Healthcare and Highmark for being among top 5% performers in overall quality in 2020.

Additionally, seven Genesis physicians were recognized by Castle Conolly and Pittsburgh magazine for their outstanding performance in the areas of Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, including Daniel Grob MD, Barbara Fardo DO, Kurt Heil MD, Christopher Koman MD, Karen Schogel MD and Donald Shoenthal, MD.

Scott Heyl, MD Mark Woodburn, MD and Eric Griffin, DO have been previously included in the “Top 40 physicians under the age of 40” in the state of PA.

These accolades are a testament to the high level of patient care provided by Genesis physicians.

The future of medicine

The COVID-19 pandemic, despite its devastation, has definitely fast tracked the widespread use of telemedicine. Telemedicine has made healthcare accessible to patients who may not have ready access to transportation or are physically home-bound. This population of patients are amongst those that are most in need of care. Increased access to timely care is just one of the many advantages of telemedicine, which indicates that it is here to stay.

Genesis anticipates new challenges in 2021 and will face them head on just as they have for more than 25 years. The increasing vaccinations and decreasing numbers of active COVID-19 cases provides great hope for our society’s impending triumph over this catastrophe. Genesis and their doctors are eager and ready for this transition.