Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Bami Olatunbosun.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a Family Medicine trained physician, previously working predominately in Federally Qualified Health Centers in underserved communities in New York City and Oakland, CA. In 2019, I decided to move to Fairbanks, Alaska to take on a different challenge and explore a new environment. I initially was going to stay for 3 years but after one brutal winter, I decided that it was time to start my own practice back in the ‘Lower 48,’ although I did not know exactly where. I had always heard great things about Tampa and after experiencing the harshest winter of my life, a winter in Tampa sounded much more inviting. I spent another year in back in California deliberating on whether or not moving my life to Florida was the right decision. By March 2021, I moved to Tampa. My plan was to take a job for a few years to get familiar with the area before attempting to start my own practice. However, no medical practices were hiring and my CV seemed like it was not even being looked at. After 3 months of applying without success, I decided that I would just have to make my own path.
I have never started or ran a business before so things have been difficult. I have an MBA in healthcare management from UNC-Chapel Hill so I thought that would give me an advantage or at least some insight. Reality is much diffrerent than school and I learned quickly about things that are not in my control. But I did open the pactice in September 2021 and have been able to survive these early months utilizing the primary care training I learned in the past as well as new cosmetic procedures I have acquired in the last year.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to this point has not been smooth. Healthcare is a tightly regulated industry requiring licenses, training, credentialing, contracts, and marketing. All of this needs to be addressed before I could even treat one patient and make one dollar. I was fortunate to have some reserves from all the things I was not able to do during the pandemic, however, those reserves have been long drained. One challenge has been having the patience to wait to get on insurance panels. As a primary care provider, accepting insurances is a key to my continued survival even if some of my patients are cash pay. The general advice is that it takes 60-90 days to start accepting a particular insurance but for me, it has taken over 6 months. In this time, I still am responsible for rent, salaries, supplies, etc. Some other challenges have been related to marketing. A big question is how to differentiate myself from my competitors. What do I do differently? What platforms should I utilize to expand my presence? When and how much should I pay for ads? Is my website optimized for SEO? Many of these questions do not have a clear answer and is part of an ongoing evolution of the practice. So yes, there have been challenges but I wake up every day trying to address each issue one by one in order to create the medical office I believe the community would benefit from.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Just Medical Care?
The name of my medical office is Just Medical Care. ‘Just’ refers to the simplicity of only medical care; no barriers between the patient and the doctor; no long hold times when trying to call your doctor; no extra admin work. ‘Just’ also refers to fairness. There are many situations where physicians practice defensive medicine or provide care that is dictated by insurance companies. My goal is to provide the best care based on the patient’s circumstances. Not all of my patients are sick or underinsured but even well-insured people receive subpar care. We are mainly a general practice office but we also provide cosmetic services including laser liposuction and anti-aging skin tightening. Our goal is to provide these services at an affordable price point so patients in Tampa do not have to travel to Miami or the Caribbean for a procedure. The main office is in Temple Terrace which is culturally diverse area. Many cosmetic procedures that use lasers and chemicals tend not to be safe for darker skin individuals. Our goal is to provide safe and effective treatments for all skin types.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Ultimately, there are a shortage of opportunities for African-American physicians. Having experienced medical education, training, and 5 years as a Board-Certified physician, I recognize the negative perceptions and biases that some organizations may have when it comes to hiring a Black physician, especially someone who does not have the perfect credentials or had some trouble along the way. Yet medicine today is different than it was from 20-30 years ago, prior to having access to information at our fingertips. As a doctor twenty years ago, one needed to be able to recall everything otherwise they would have to look through a dense textbook to find the answer. Now, a quick search on the best medical text online can get you answers in seconds. Memory recall is not as important as the ability to motivate and persuade people to take care of themselves. As Just Medical Care grows with more providers and staff, the goal is not to find the physicians and providers with the highest test scores. The goal is to find people who relate to members of the community, who care about serving their community, and who deserve the opportunity to utilize their years of training to provide for themselves and their family. I am committed to giving African-American physicians an opportunity to come build a more just medical system.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.justmedicalcare.com
- Instagram: @justmedicalcare
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/justmedicalcare1
