Really good medical care starts by providing robust primary care with doctors and nurse practitioners who have the time to listen and are backed-up by a multidisciplinary team.
© 2026 by Michael Fine
I ran into my friend Bert last night and we got to talking.
“I hear you guys talking about medical care, about how it is for-profit and lots of people are using it to make too much money on the backs of communities,” he said. “But my care is great. I go to Oak Street. I see a nurse practitioner. She’s great. She takes all the time I need with me. She explains things. And you know me. I have lots of questions. If I need to see a specialist, they set it up. Seamless.”
Oak Street Health is a medical practice for people with Medicare. It was started in 2012 by three entrepreneurs who had worked together at the Boston Consulting Group, who realized they could make money by providing really good primary care, using doctors and nurse practitioners and other health professionals and services. Oak Street Health keeps each doctor’s or NP’s workload reasonable, making sure they have no more than about 500 patients. (The typical doctor or NP cares for 1000-2300 patients.) This way of doing primary care saves money – and keeps people out of the hospital, as it keeps people healthier.
Click here to read the rest of this article, originally published on What's Up Newport on June 26, 2026.
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