Harbor Health Clinic is a primary care center located near Sun City on Williams Drive. This is the clinic’s 11th location and was chosen by Dr. Clay Johnston based on the need for doctors in the area.
Dr. Clay Johnston, the founding physician of Harbor Health, said throughout his career, he has been trying to create a new healthcare model.
“A new model for how to keep people healthy, focused on: how we can improve people's outcomes, and how we can take waste out of the system and reinvest it in things that really matter for people's health.”
Dr. Johnston worked in medical research and he was the dean of the Dell Medical School at UT Austin for 7.5 years. Three years ago, he started Harbor Health.
“I decided that if I really wanted to see dramatic changes in the health system, that I needed to start a company,” he said.
“My experience at Dell Med made it clear that we needed more fundamental changes to fix the health system, things we couldn't do at the med school.”
Dr. Johnston was in research administration at the University of California San Francisco. “[When I was in] research administration, and I really got frustrated with how little we know about taking care of people. We're focused on the wrong things, not the things that matter the most for people's health. That's what kind of brought me to Austin: to try to create that better system.”
Harbor Health also refers to their patients as “members,” this is in line with their belief that people are active participants in their health. Each member is assigned a care team including a clinician, a nurse and a health coach. If needed, the care team refers their member out to other health care providers using their “clinical performance map.” This map includes information on quality and cost of health services in the Austin area. For example, if a member needed to see a specialist about possibly needing surgery, the care team would consult this map.
To make it easier for patients to reach their doctor, Harbor Health offers virtual appointments. Patients are also able to call and text the office.
“We think that a lot of things can be addressed through a phone call or text message,” Mr. Johnston said. “You know, a lot of times in healthcare, you just have a quick question, or, you know what you have, and it's so obvious what's needed.”
“If somebody really needs more prolonged visits, obviously we're happy to do face to face visit. But we're happy to do those on the phone or video or whatever makes the most sense.”
“We're trying to open up all those channels for people so they really can stay connected to us and we can address their needs more readily.”
Using mobile clinics
Harbor Health has two mobile clinics that park in different locations around town so people can easily attend doctor appointments. One frequent stop is in front of Taylor High School.
Access to primary care is a big issue all over the country, Dr. Johnston said, but especially in Williamson County where the population is growing very fast. A lot of doctors have retired and not enough new doctors have opened up practices, Dr. Johnston said.
“The physician shortage in Texas is definitely a problem, particularly for primary care,” Dr. Johnston said. “I'm hoping we can make the practice of medicine, and primary care in particular, more rewarding so that we draw more people into the field and into practicing in Texas.”
“We wanted to be open and to be able to help anybody from kids all the way to the most geriatric, the oldest and most senior of our population.”
“We're happy to see everybody. [At the William’s Drive site,] we have family medicine that can see younger folks. Then we have internal medicine for more complex adult patients and programs that serve that whole range.”
Harbor Health is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. They accept most forms of insurance and accept self-pay.