Case Study: Trillium Family Medicine achieves 50% patient load reduction and greater efficiency with eClinicalWorks

Compassionate, Patient-Centered, High Quality Care for Patients of All Ages

Trillium Family Medicine, a solo primary-care practice in Asheville led by Dr. S. Mark McNeill, faced the industry challenge of doing more with less: navigating regulatory demands while lowering overhead and improving patient care and satisfaction without increasing visit volume. Dr. McNeill’s goal was to reduce his patient panel and costs so he could spend more meaningful time with each patient.

He reconfigured the practice around an eClinicalWorks Patient Portal—training patients to self-schedule (about 75% now), use secure messaging, and complete integrated “Instant Medical History” questionnaires—while simplifying scheduling and using a statistical method to “right-size” daily appointments. The result: a lean staff, a drop from ~20–25 to about 12 visits per day (practice panel reduced from roughly 1,800 to ~1,000), fewer calls and after-hours interruptions, avoiding new hires, and higher patient and provider satisfaction through more focused, relationship-driven care.

Trillium Family Medicine

S. Mark McNeill

Founder