About Us
How It All Started
Our practice transformation did not happen overnight. Rather, it has been a very slow and progressive process that has completely changed the core of our organization. Beginning to use virtual medical assistants and services ourselves optimized productivity, efficiency, and costs.
It all started about five years ago. At that time, our primary care practice was going through a strong period of growth that required adapting our staff and protocols to newer dynamics.
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It was not unusual for me to hear patients who were complaining of having been on hold on the phone for 20 minutes or longer. Like the vast majority of medical centers, our front desk employees were overwhelmed with phone calls and could not attend to the incoming patients in a courteous and effective matter. Our medical assistants were in an almost constant state of disarray, retrieving voicemail messages and taking care of prescriptions and results delivery between patient visits. That was a defining moment for me and for my staff: we could not succumb to a customer service level that was not acceptable for our patients. I decided to open a centralized call and support center in order to field all the inbound and outbound calls from our three different offices.
We opened a new facility and hired more staff. In the meantime in each office, we consolidated the number of medical staffs, who would now be only dedicated to taking care of the patients on-site. This definitely improved the efficiencies of the practice and created a much more welcoming and professional atmosphere in all the offices. Unfortunately, despite the redistribution of the staff and the utilization of dedicated call center employees, time on-hold was still not acceptable and the overall costs for the practice were becoming truly unsustainable.
Finally, about three years ago I decided to outsource professional Virtual Medical Assistants for the practice. Our international call and support center started with only a couple of employees. After a few weeks, we were able to hire more overseas staff and more virtual medical assistants and we closed our centralized call center. Soon enough we realized that, with the proper training and supervision, the outsourced staff could take over, perform and optimize a vast number of tasks, from the very basic to the most complex, in a much more efficient and cost-effective way.
In the last two years, our very skilled and dedicated overseas staff especially our virtual medical assistants has grown to over 20 employees who handle inbound calls, outbound calls, patient check-ins, reminders, pre-visit planning, insurance verification, prior authorizations, lab transcription, schedule optimization, billing, collections, and many other tasks. Furthermore, our overhead costs have been slashed by almost 70%, our productivity has grown tremendously year over year, and our providers and staff are now able to enjoy a much better work-life balance.
At a time when primary care in America is withstanding the greatest threat from hospitals and insurance organizations and real burn-out is affecting more and more providers and clinical staff members, this has been a true lifesaver for our practice, our employees, and our patients.
Having achieved such success, we have been asked by other practices to help and provide them with auxiliary staff and virtual medical assistants who could implement our enhanced clinical, billing, and patient engagement protocols.
As a practicing physician, I know all too well how hard it is to operate and grow a successful medical practice in today’s adverse environment. It is my goal, my wish, and privilege to extend our experience and expertise to other medical enterprises, big or small, in order to provide them and their patients with the best in terms of practice efficiency, productivity, care quality, and clinical outcomes.
Dr. Fausto Petruzziello
CEO/Medical Director
Executive Team
Dr. Fausto Petruzziello
CEO/Medical Director
Janine Koukos
Executive Clinical Coordinator
Sue Torelli
Administrative Manager
Paolo Persichetti
Creative Director
Senior Staff
Judie
Administrative/Clinical
Fatima
Clinical
Nicole
Clinical
Rlyne
Clinical
Paul
Administrative
Fabson
Administrative
Emilou
Administrative
Alrey
Administrative
Dr. Fausto Petruzziello
CEO/Medical Director
Born and raised in Rome, Italy, Dr. Fausto Petruzziello graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” Medical School in 1990.
While completing a General Surgery Residency at the same institution, he served as a Medical Officer in the Mounted State Police with the rank of First Lieutenant and was appointed to care for the President of Italy and his Security Service from 1993 to 1995.
He moved to the US in 1995, where he entered and completed an Internal Medicine Residency program at the University of Massachusetts Berkshire Medical Center campus in Pittsfield, MA.
In 1998 he relocated to Connecticut, where he co-founded a medical practice in Hamden, Family Practice and Internal Medicine of Spring Glen.
In 2007 Dr. Petruzziello established his own medical enterprise with the launch of CareMEDICA and its affiliated MEDICA companies.Today CareMEDICA is one of the Greater New Haven Area largest and leading providers of Primary Care and diversified medical services including acute and chronic care management, immediate care, chronic pain management, nutritional services, medical weight loss (WeightMEDICA), aesthetic medicine (LaserMEDICA), travel medicine, clinical research, a dedicated hospitalist program, personal injury and worker’s compensation, women’s health, bone health and many more.
Dr. Petruzziello is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at both the Yale University and the Quinnipiac University Schools of Medicine and a past Clinical Professor at the Yale School of Nursing. He has participated as principal investigator in major clinical trials and, as member of several Advisory Boards, he is actively involved in developing new strategies to fight the modern epidemics of Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes, Cancer and Infectious Diseases.
A member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, the American Academy of Private Physicians, the Medical Group Management Association, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the Connecticut State Medical Society and the New Haven County Medical Society, Dr. Petruzziello is Board-Certified in Internal Medicine in the US and in General Surgery in Europe. Since 1989 he has authored more than 30 clinical articles in the field of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Antibiotic Therapy and Geriatric Medicine published in International journals.
Over the years, in an enthusiastic quest to pursue the best heath delivery models and the most successful longevity protocols for his patients, Dr. Petruzziello has extensively travelled to visit all of the most successful and luxurious centers for Executive Health in the US and throughout the world. His passionate vision for the creation of a brand new, comprehensive and even more advanced health and lifestyle management service led to the creation of CareMEDICA Elite in 2016, an exclusive, members-only service that is headquartered in Hamden, CT.
The successful operation of CareMEDICA Elite in the U.S. serves as the model for Alicorn Circle, an invitation-only, international health and lifestyle program with hubs located in Rome,Monte Carlo, Dubai and Hong Kong, andadditional international destinations planned in the future. Dr. Petruzziello currently serves as CEO and Medical Director of CareMEDICA, CareMEDICA Elite and Alicorn Circle.
Paolo Persichetti
Creative Director
Paolo Persichetti was born in Caracas, where he completed his studies in Architecture, then moved to the United States, New York City where he studied at the prestigious New York University. From 1984 he began his entrepreneurial career in New York establishing himself in the construction and restructuring field dealing with large-scale renovation projects, in fact, he is recognized in several publications, including:”Architectural Digest”, “New York Times” and “Home and Gardens”.
After moving to Italy, in 1997 his rise in the International Marketing and Communication sector becomes increasingly important, in fact he holds managerial positions of importance in London, Barcelona and then in Italy, when he joins the important television production company “Orizzonti Entertainment”. In 2005, he moved to direct the Marketing and Commercial office of the International Kermesse “L’Isola del Cinema di Roma”, a renowned worldwide film event. This is followed by university lectures in “Creative Marketing & Event Organization” at the University of Rieti and at the University of La Sapienza in Rome, aimed at graduates in “Master of Communication”. From 2008 to 2012 he held the position of director of the “National Department of Marketing, Strategy and Social Economics Problems” for the “CAD”.
Tireless in the search for new goals, in 2012 he returned to the United States as Managing Director of a very important fashion company. Passionate about sports and fitness, former basketball player and musician registered with the SIAE as Composer and Author, he decides to diversify his interest embarking on a new adventure that expresses his many interests. In fact in 2019 he founded “Walk2fit USA” in New York, an innovative workout based on the philosophy of well-being at 360 degrees, a startup currently in a phase of growth and expansion. Certified in “Digital Marketing” by Google Lab Europe, and currently enrolled at Harvard University in the “Fundamentals of TinyML” program.
From 2020 he joins “Alicorn Health International” as head of the International America Office, to lend all his experience and energy to the development in Europe and around the world of the prestigious CareMEDICA International brands.