Mark Collins, Chief Strategy Officer, OneHealth

In an interview with Invest:, Mark Collins, chief strategy officer of OneHealth, said that embracing innovation while maintaining provider well-being is key to meeting the demands of a rapidly growing healthcare market. “As the area expands and healthcare becomes increasingly consumer-driven, we’re moving toward becoming a 24/7 operation in primary care,” Collins added.

With OneHealth growing rapidly over the past few months, what have been the key highlights?

The first major highlight is the growth itself. We’ve added around 25 to 30 new providers who will be with us by the end of the year. That brings us to just over 210 providers across our entire footprint. This marks the fourth consecutive year we’ve achieved a growth rate of 30%–35%. While this speaks to the population growth in areas like Charlotte and the Winston-Salem market, we’re most proud that it reflects our commitment to maintaining open access for all patients, both existing and new. We’re currently averaging nearly 4,000 new patients each month across all our practices, which highlights our ability to serve as a strong access point for individuals, especially those relocating to the region.

Another significant highlight is the expansion of our OB-GYN services. We now have over 30 OB-GYN providers. By the end of the year, we’ll be the only Atrium-affiliated obstetrics practice serving three separate hospitals: Lake Norman Hospital, Lincolnton Hospital, and soon University Hospital. This is rare, as most practices typically support only one hospital due to call commitments and logistics. We’re extremely proud of our maternity team for reaching this milestone.

With OneHealth now embedded in Atrium’s newly opened Lake Norman Hospital, how does that partnership shape your strategic footprint?

Lake Norman Hospital is right in the center of where most of our practices are based, so having a presence there is a natural fit. In July, the hospital’s first full month of operation, we had 100 OneHealth babies born there. We watched the count hour by hour until the 100th baby arrived — it was an exciting moment. I can’t say for certain if it’s a national record for a community hospital’s opening month, but it must be close.

Beyond maternity, the hospital has become a critical access point for many of our patients, and we’ve already established a great partnership with Atrium Health Surgery. Many of our general surgery patients are now receiving care there. We’d been anticipating this hospital for a couple of years, and the response has been incredible. It was essentially full in its first month, and there’s already discussion about expansion.

As the Charlotte healthcare market evolves, how is OneHealth positioning itself to stay competitive and distinct?

Our strategy starts with focusing on the human experience, not just for patients but also for our providers and team members. Provider and staff burnout continues to be a major concern nationally, so we’re investing in technologies and processes to enhance the patient experience while reducing administrative burdens on our staff.

One initiative we launched nearly a year ago is DAX, which is an ambient AI that listens during patient visits and automatically drafts clinical notes. Providers simply review and approve the documentation afterward. The reliability rate has been high, and many providers are saving up to two hours per day on paperwork. For those who aren’t as fast at typing or documentation, like me, it’s been a huge time saver.

In early 2026, we’re rolling out another AI platform that will interact directly with patients and automate certain tasks that follow defined protocols. The AI agent will not be making medical decisions but will serve as an extension of the clinician and provide ongoing support and education for patients about certain disease states.  We believe these technologies will keep us at the forefront of care delivery while preserving provider well-being.

With initiatives like embedded urgent care and collaborative care, how are you ensuring that open access doesn’t come at the expense of continuity or quality?

Access is at the heart of quality. We’ve been intentional about building what we call a “modern primary care platform.” One example is our collaborative care model, which integrates a virtual behavioral health therapist into our practices. That program continues to grow, and we’re now referring 400 to 450 patients each month. Patient and provider satisfaction is high, with net promoter scores in the 94–95 range.

We’ve also launched our “Food is Medicine” platform through a partnership that allows patients to access registered dietitians virtually. For chronic conditions where nutrition support is beneficial, this program provides ongoing management and education over time, much like our virtual therapy model.

Looking forward, we’re exploring similar services in occupational therapy and home health. Our focus is on “meeting the patient between visits,” and that only happens if we expand the care team beyond traditional office visits to include services that extend and complement in-person care.

As healthcare trends shift toward more in-home or outpatient care, how are you integrating these changes into your strategic planning?

The biggest trend we’re seeing is the consumerism shift in healthcare, where partnership and choice are critical, which they absolutely should be. Think about how easy it is to order a product on Amazon and have it delivered the same day, to hail a ride with a tap, or to create an entire research paper with a prompt. Patients now expect similar responsiveness from healthcare. We’re adjusting by ensuring virtual care is available when appropriate and by expanding availability beyond the standard Monday–Friday, 9 to 5 window.

We’ve introduced weekend and evening hours, both virtual and in-person, not just for urgent needs but also for chronic and wellness care. This allows busy individuals to schedule a physical or routine check-up on a Saturday morning if that’s what works best for them.

In addition to this consumer-driven shift, we’re also seeing more disruptors entering the market. Some focus solely on virtual care or niche services like GLP-1 medications for weight loss. While we support convenience, we believe these offerings need to be integrated into a broader, coordinated primary care model. That’s what we’re building with our modern care platform — making access easier while maintaining comprehensive, high-quality care.

How are you adapting your workforce model to support flexibility and work-life balance for your team?

Culture is where we start. When we asked our practices to consider extended hours and seven-day-a-week operations, we emphasized that patient access should not come at the expense of provider and team wellness. It’s all about teamwork and smarter workflows, not longer hours.

We’ve empowered each practice to design staffing models that work for them. Some team members prefer 12-hour shifts, giving them more days off each week. Others are hiring part-time staff who are happy to work weekends or evenings. This flexibility helps us meet patient needs while ensuring our current staff isn’t overburdened. We’ve also expanded our hiring pool, allowing for more diversity in our workforce and work models.

As we look ahead to the next two to three years, what are your top priorities for OneHealth, and what’s your broader outlook on the industry?

Looking ahead, we know we’ll need to continue growing to meet demand. As the area expands and healthcare becomes increasingly consumer-driven, we’re moving toward becoming a 24/7 operation in primary care. This not only improves access but also reduces overall healthcare costs. Studies have shown that when patients know their primary care doctor and can reach them easily, their overall cost of care is significantly lower, regardless of age or condition.

Our second major focus is continuing to thoughtfully integrate artificial intelligence. While AI is omnipresent in every industry right now, we will use it wisely and safely. We’re excited about how AI can improve patient education, nurse triage, and overall care coordination. There’s a lot on the horizon, and we’re eager to keep pushing the envelope to deliver a better experience for both patients and providers.