this job is for you! - Primary Care Physician ChenMed Employee Review

1.0
Nov 1, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

great patient population (underserved), wonderful nursing staff (at least in my particular clinic), awesome accessory personnel, good salary

Cons

This job is for you...if you enjoy being micromanaged down to the very last detail; do not enjoy autonomy as a physician; hate down time or spending time with your family; like being rushed to see complex patients and not have the appropriate resources to manage them well; enjoy having the operational rules/goals changed every few weeks that make your job more tedious. PCP's have no autonomy, no control over scheduling. Patients have very complex social and medical issues, yet corporate administrators still want physicians to see a greater number of patients per day (the goal is to see roughly 18-22 patients per day). Physicians are expected to be available for their patients continuously. Telephone call is not triaged by an RN so expect to deal with non-urgent medical/non-medical issues continuously when you are on call (on the weekend, don't expect to sleep much). Very few in-house specialty services, corporate discourages referrals and once the patient is seen by a specialist it can be difficult (on some occasions) to obtain records of the visit. You are responsible for all inpatient admissions for your patients and will be chastised if you have a particularly high number of patients in the hospital at any particular time. This is particularly frustrating with psych admissions as patients with complex psych issues cannot get seen by a psychiatrist for months apart. Social worker seems overwhelmed and thus was not very helpful in my particular clinic. There is no administrative time to review labs/records, catch up on emails throughout the day. Expect to have repetitive meetings on a weekly basis and the occasional meeting to discuss how much money you are costing the company with particular referrals for particular patients (this meeting made me want to put a bullet in my head). Accessory staff is overworked, tired and frustrated. Lastly, you have to memorize and recite the company's mission statement - I'll call it that for the sake of simplicity - at the beginning of every meeting...and please, do it with enthusiasm (you will have so much to be grateful for). The company says that they are "PCP lead" which is clear to see based on my above description. In short, this job is for you if you enjoy all of the aforementioned things.

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ChenMed Response
6y
Dear Primary Care Physician in Norfolk: I recently read your review and as the Chief Medical Officer for the region that includes our Norfolk medical center, your comments hit close to home for me. I am sorry your experience with us has not met your expectations. It is true that our well care model is much different than the typical fee-for-service approach to sick care. Our PCPs see between 18 and 21 patients a day – far fewer than our counterparts in the fee-for-service world. These smaller patient panels allow us to get to know our patients, build trust and develop relationships that allow us to coach them to better health. As a PCP-led organization, we take the best practices of our most successful PCPs and scale them throughout the organization – removing the guess work and bringing our concierge level of care to more senior in communities across the country. These seniors are some of the most marginalized and forgotten members of our society. So, yes, we want to see them whenever they need us – and be available even if they just need to hear a friendly voice. Our approach is not for everyone; but PCPs who embrace our mission get all the support and development they need to succeed. As Chief Medical Officer, I am here to help any PCP who is struggling. He or she can call me anytime and we’ll create a plan that works for the PCP, the patients, and the organization. Sincerely, Maina Gatonye, MD

Explore other reviews about ChenMed

5.0
May 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-ValueBased care driven. -Mission and Vision. -Growth opportunity. -Work-life balance.

Cons

Challenges to meet metrics dependent on market/location- but not impossible

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ChenMed Response
3w
Thank you for the 5-star review and for helping us bring more good days to our patients. We appreciate your feedback regarding center metrics. Each community presents unique circumstances, and we appreciate your recognition that success is still achievable when we support each other.
3.0
Jul 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The pay is competitive, however the workload is very heavy. The company does put emphasis on a positive culture, but the teams are in constant fear of lay off, or being let go due to unrealistic productivity expectations

Cons

Bonuses are cancelled, changes are too often, everything is always a priority. The productivity expectations are unrealistic. The other thing is favoritism and nepotism, you will never advance if you are not friendly with certain people. It is very evident that the focus is not on talent when promotions are available.

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