3 Minutes on a Park Bench with Dr. Vikash Modi of Brookhaven Primary Care

Patch partner Dr. Vikash Modi of Brookhaven Primary Care told us the best piece of education advice he's ever received.

Patch: How did you first get involved in healthcare?

Dr. Vikash Modi: I grew up around medicine and have been fascinated with the science of health. My mother was a medical lab technician at Henry Medical Center, now Piedmont Henry, and my uncles are doctors in India. My first experience in healthcare was as a volunteer at Piedmont Henry. I became engrossed in interacting with patients and helping them feel well again.

Patch: What can people expect from the new Brookhaven Primary Care facility?

Dr. Vikash Modi: This is a state-of-the-art facility with a team of providers and staff who are invested in delivering the highest quality medical care with a patient experience that is comfortable and convenient. We address preventative and wellness goals, treat women's health issues, provide compassionate sick visit care for our patients, and facilitate expert care within the community at large and specifically within the Piedmont Medical specialist network.

Patch: Piedmont Healthcare has an incredible network of hospitals and care facilities. How do you ensure that each patient receives personalized care with so many locations? Or is it easier because everything is so well-connected?

Dr. Vikash Modi: The thing I’ve been most impressed about within Piedmont is the interconnectivity of the primary and specialty care clinics with the hospital system. I was with an independent practice prior to joining Piedmont Physicians Group (PPG), and the level of communication and collaboration within this system is light-years beyond anything I’ve seen before. From something as simple as copying a visit note to one of my patient’s specialists to reviewing an EKG or lab result with one of the specialists in real time, I can honestly say I’ve become a better provider since joining this group. Even if our patient is working with a specialist outside of Piedmont, our staff at Brookhaven is incredibly diligent at coordinating care and transferring records between offices so that other Piedmont specialists and I can stay abreast of the patient’s outside care.

Patch: If you had to recommend three books, what would they be and why?

Dr. Vikash Modi: “An Unquiet Mind” by Kay Redfield Jamison is an insightful glimpse into the experience of bipolar disorder from a clinical psychologist. It helped me understand mental health from a much different perspective. “House of God” by Samuel Shem is a satirical, shocking, but incredibly familiar account of a doctor’s experience in medical school and residency. As a doctor, I could relate with a number of the themes in the book at various stages of my career. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- I was an English minor in college, and spent a lot of time reading classic English and American literature. This was one that I enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed analyzing.

Patch: The Piedmont Healthcare website is very intuitive and easy to use. People can meet the doctors at the Brookhaven location and schedule an appointment easily. How did your team go about designing this website?

Dr. Vikash Modi: Piedmont’s strategic planning has been incredibly impressive. During new physician orientation, we learned that Piedmont collected data and recommendations from patients and members of the community. They found that navigating the webpage, being able to see a doctor’s schedule and schedule online, and being able to navigate the hospital and clinics easily were a few of the top recommendations for patient satisfaction. Piedmont will also apply the same design approach towards patient billing. In the next few months, patients will find increased transparency and ease of understanding medical bills that they receive from Piedmont clinics and hospitals.

Patch: How has the health care industry changed over the years?

Dr. Vikash Modi: Patients know more now. The internet and accessibility to medical information over the past 20 years has made our patients much more aware and savvy when it comes to medical conditions and standards of care. Doctors and patients are now communicating at a higher level than ever before and I’d like to think that that translates into better patient care and outcomes.

Patch: What's your definition of success?

Dr. Vikash Modi: In regard to my profession as a doctor, it is that I help my patients and my community achieve a sense of wellness. I am not content to simply stabilize my patients on combinations of medications, surgeries, and testing. My goal with every patient is that the patient feels well with as little medical intervention as possible. In my personal life, it is keeping my family happy and healthy and enjoying the community and friends here in Atlanta that my wife and I have come to love.

Patch: How is Piedmont Healthcare involved in the Atlanta community?

Dr. Vikash Modi: Piedmont has a vested interest in improving the quality of life and access to care for each member of the Atlanta community, whether they are a Piedmont patient or not. Just this month, Piedmont has received grant applications for the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) program. Through this initiative, Piedmont will be able to fund community programs like the food prescription program at Good Samaritan Clinic in Atlanta to improve nutrition in food deserts throughout north Georgia. Also, through their Walk with a Doc program, Piedmont has been promoting increased physical activity.

Patch: What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

Dr. Vikash Modi: My wife and I have an annual “Friendsgiving” lunch followed by a two mile walk on the Beltline with a few of our closest friends in Atlanta on the day of Thanksgiving. We then spend the weekend with my parents in Henry County.

Patch: What advice would you give to someone looking to get involved in healthcare care?

Dr. Vikash Modi: First, make sure your top priority is to care for other people. If your goals are anything other than that, you may be disappointed in this venture. Next, find out what you can do within your means. If you never had formal medical training, maybe you could help with financial counseling or emotional counseling.

For somebody who’s decided that they want to become a medical provider -- study hard, apply yourself, find experiences that expose you to the many various fields of healthcare and then pursue the route that lets you take care of patients in the way that most fulfills you.

Patch: How can readers contact you to learn more about Brookhaven Primary Care?

Dr. Vikash Modi: Our office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., and we can be reached during business hours at (404) 231-4231. You can visit our site at piedmont.org/brookhaven or with a google search of “Piedmont Brookhaven Primary Care.” We welcome any members of the community or potential patients to visit us at our new location at 3925 Peachtree Rd. NE, on the corner of Colonial Drive in Brookhaven.