Hospice News Editor Jim Parker also contributed to this story.

Philadelphia-based First Docs – a physician-led internal medicine practice – is poised for multi-state expansion after securing private equity backing from Webster Equity Partners.

The investment is of note particularly due to the type of health care providers First Docs currently collaborates with: hospice, palliative care and home health providers, among others. Financial terms of the Webster investment were not disclosed.

On its own, the organization – which was founded by CEO Dr. Sanjay Bhatia in 2010 – also provides primary care, hospital-based services, case management and surgical co-management through its proprietary 360 Community Medicine Care Model.

“The 360 Community Medicine model describes what I believe is a sector of internal medicine that can be practiced in any community in the country, whereby you take all comers regardless of insurance so that we open up channels immediately to the underserved as well,” Bhatia told Home Health Care News’ sister site Hospice News. “The best athletes cross-train, same thing here with doctors. We believe that cross-training our physicians gets you a very robust physician, and staves off any burnout. Patients do better, and the doctors are better.”

In addition to its own physician offices and hospitals, the company provides care in clinics, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, and long-term care acute hospitals.

The company’s clinicians monitor patients to determine when they become eligible for home health, hospice or palliative care, Bhatia said. First Docs partners with those providers to ensure continuity of care in collaboration with medical directors.

“There’s a number of home health agencies in any particular community,” Bhatia said. “So firstly, obviously, is patient choice. We respect patient choice, and local partnerships, as long as it’s a home health agency that has an open line of communication with us directly. So we have a 24-hour answering service where you speak to a physician at any time. We make sure these are agencies that are comfortable with that sort of oversight.”

Though the company did not disclose the names of providers they are working with, Bhatia told Hospice News that their partners include some large, nationwide companies as well as smaller, community-based providers.

First Docs sees home health care as a “big growth sector,” Bhatia said.

“There’s a lot of care available in the home, and we’re involved with remote patient monitoring, which is we’re trying to introduce that at the [skilled nursing and assisted living] levels as well,” he said. “I think that’ll certainly help us in the home setting.”

Prior to the Webster transaction, First Docs predominately operated in eastern Pennsylvania and central New Jersey regions. Now, the company will rapidly expand into new markets, beginning this quarter of the year, according to Bhatia.

Initially, the company will focus on moving into Rhode Island, upstate New York, Connecticut, the Carolinas and Tennessee. The investment will also support the development of an in-house predictive analytics platform designed to match patients to the right services based on their identified needs, Bhatia said.

Webster Equity Partners focuses its investments on the health care space, in the $20 million to $200 million range. 

The business research firm Pitchbook placed Webster second on its list of the top private equity investors in the senior and disability care space, tied with Audux Group. Chicago-based Vistria Group, which owns a variety of home-based care organizations, took the top spot.

“I’m thrilled about the partnership, which enables us to further expand on a national level,” Bhatia said. “An expanded footprint means we’ll be able to positively impact and serve more patients across the continuum of care, thereby advancing our mission of providing high-quality internal medicine across a variety of health care settings.”