Melissa Boylan, MD, FAAFP, practiced was a conventional care provider in the traditional medical environment until she became frustrated with the lack of personalized care and the skyrocketing costs inflicted on patients.
“I knew there was a better way to treat people that would make them more comfortable and satisfied with the system,” said Dr. Boylan. “One on one dialogues and personalized care is what I now provide in a relaxing environment.”
Dr. Boylan branched away from the corporate hospital system and founded Noreta Family Medicine in Northeast Columbia They offer cost transparency and provide most of the same services that corporate institutions offer.
“I am a full service medical practice that doesn’t feel clinical or sterile,” said Dr. Boylan. “We keep everything in house as much as we can and that even includes the medications.”Dr. Boylan has her own pharmacy and in many instances the prices are much better than a corporate pharmacy.
One of Dr. Boylan’s patients, Elizabeth Cameron commented. “I was already a patient of Dr. Boylan when she was practicing for the hospital,” said Elizabeth. “I liked the idea of what she wanted to do and it appealed to me.”
The goal was to create health plans and care for individuals and small businesses to visit the clinic as often as they like and in-house medications are provided at no extra cost. There are now more than 1300 similar practices around the country that allow for a monthly fee and for the patient to terminate services without penalty whenever they desire to discontinue service.
“Once people understand this concept I believe it will become very popular,” said Dr. Boylan.
Noreta Family Medicine is located at 115 Blarney Dr. Suite 100 in northeast Columbia and can be reached at 803-667-4190 or [email protected].
Photo: Dr. Melissa Boylan (r) and clinic member Elizabeth Cameron
