Why Gateway supports independent practice
Independent physicians in St. Louis practice alongside large health systems and large employed groups. Staying independent is a choice, and it has a cost. The physician who owns the practice is also responsible for payroll, payer paperwork, the supply closet and the fax machine.
Our view is simple. Physicians set the clinical direction, and support should fit the way their teams work. When a practice is owned by the people who see the patients, decisions about schedules, staffing and services are made close to the exam room. We think that is worth keeping, so our practice support is built for practices that plan to remain independent.
The work that crowds out patient care
Most independent practices are not short on clinical skill. They are short on hours. The same few people handle:
- Claims that come back unpaid and need a second or third touch
- Prior authorization requests waiting on a payer or on a missing record
- Credentialing applications, revalidations and renewal dates for every clinician and plan
- Supply orders, backorders and equipment that needs service
- Enrollment, monthly contacts and documentation for care management programs
- A website and listings nobody has updated since the office moved
None of it is clinical. All of it affects whether a practice can stay open on its own terms.
What Gateway offers independent practices
Practice support gives an independent practice access to five kinds of help. Each can be used on its own.
- Products and equipment: clinical supplies, wound care products and equipment, with an ordering routine behind them.
- Operations and administration: help with medical billing, claims follow-up, prior-authorization tracking, credentialing and payer enrollment, scheduling and records.
- Care-program administration: enrollment, follow-up and documentation support for programs such as chronic care management, remote monitoring, transitional care and annual wellness visits.
- AI-assisted workflows: tools that flag missing information and likely billing issues for your staff to review.
- Marketing and referrals: search visibility, outreach to physicians and facilities, and referral relationships across the region.
Support for the Alliance of Independent Physicians
Gateway supports the Alliance of Independent Physicians. We mention it here because that support comes from the same place as the rest of this page: our belief that independent practice in the St. Louis region is worth sustaining.
We do not speak for the Alliance. For information about the organization, its membership or its activities, please contact the Alliance directly.
Independent practices and the referral map
Gateway’s patient-facing work keeps us in regular contact with hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, home health agencies and physician offices across Greater St. Louis and the Metro East. Patients and families contact us about wound care and primary care, and we coordinate visits delivered by partner clinicians.
That gives independent practices two ways to connect. A physician whose patient needs wound care at home or in a facility can use our coordination for referring physicians and stay informed. A practice that wants to be better known to facilities and referring offices can ask about introductions. An introduction is only that. Referral decisions belong to the referring clinician and the patient.
Your practice stays yours
Practice support does not change who owns or governs your practice. Your clinicians keep every clinical decision and every determination of medical necessity. Your practice makes the final coding decisions and remains responsible for the claims it submits. You choose your staff, your payers, your suppliers and your services.
Gateway prepares, tracks, follows up and flags. We do not direct care, and we do not promise revenue, savings or referral volume.
How to start a conversation
Use the practice support inquiry form or call 314-325-0126. Tell us your specialty, how many clinicians you have and the one administrative task you would most like off your desk. If you are comparing several sources of help, our guide on what to ask when choosing practice support lists questions worth putting to any company, including Gateway.
Common questions
Do we need to belong to the Alliance of Independent Physicians to use practice support?
No. Practice support is offered to independent practices in the region and is not tied to membership in any organization. Gateway supports the Alliance, and that support is separate from the services a practice arranges with us. Questions about joining the Alliance or about what it does should go to the Alliance itself.
Does working with Gateway change who owns or runs our practice?
No. Practice support is help with defined tasks, such as tracking authorizations or organizing supply orders. Ownership, governance, hiring, payer choices and clinical policy remain with you. Your clinicians make the clinical decisions, and your practice stays responsible for coding and claims. Have your own advisers review any agreement, as you would with any outside company.
We are a solo physician with a small staff. Is that too small?
Small practices are the ones this support is written for. A solo office feels every absence and every backlog, so handing off one well-chosen task can make a noticeable difference to the week. Start by telling us what that task is. We will say directly whether it is something Gateway does and what the work would involve.
Does Gateway work with independent practices on the Illinois side?
Gateway’s region is Greater St. Louis in Missouri and the Metro East in Illinois. Practices that see patients in both states carry extra administrative work, since licensure, Medicaid programs and some payer processes differ by state. Mention where your patients are seen when you contact us, so the conversation starts with the right details.
Can Gateway introduce us to other practices or facilities?
We can discuss it. Gateway works with facilities, hospitals and physician practices across the region and can make introductions where there is a sensible fit. An introduction does not obligate anyone to refer, and we cannot promise referral volume. Patients and their referring clinicians decide where care is delivered.