350+ physicians in 7 states, PE-controlled, and a CFO on record that phones are the biggest barrier to growth
Asked (summary):
For gastrohealth.com: how many providers, in how many states? Is Gastro Health the decision-making entity (true owner)? Which three people are the current top decision makers for patient-access tool buying? What tools do they use (EHRs, AI tech, scheduling)? What are their specialties? Has anyone spoken publicly about patient-access problems? Do they have centralized phones (one number across locations, a toll-free line)?
This account brief draws on 70 shaped evidence rows from 42 independent hosts, gathered as of 24 October 2026, spanning scale, ownership, leadership, technology, specialties, and phone-access evidence. Several syndicated releases repeat the same announcements; official Gastro Health pages and primary vendor case studies are weighted first.
Footprint: about 150 locations across 7 states
Gastro Health's latest corporate boilerplate reports 350+ physicians at about 150 locations in Alabama, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Virginia, and Washington. Treat 350+ as a publicly reported physician count, not an exact all-provider roster. Hover a state for context.
Dark blue: states with Gastro Health care centers (7). Grey: no reported presence. Florida is the historic home base (founded 2006, headquartered in Miami).
Eight questions, eight answers
1. How many providers?
verified350+ physicians, ~150 locations — the publicly reported physician count in October 2026 releases, not an exact all-provider roster. prnewswire.com
verifiedGastro Health is the operating and contracting entity, but it is controlled by OMERS Private Equity (2021 secondary acquisition from founding investor Audax Group). Management makes vendor selections subject to sponsor and board governance — it is not the ultimate financial owner. zoominvestors.com
4. Top 3 patient-access buying stakeholders?
inferredAlan Oliver (CEO, enterprise authority), Philip Meador (COO, operational owner), Lawrence G. Freni (CFO, publicly tied to the Kora phone-AI business case). Frank Manes (Chief Development Officer) is an added influencer who has discussed AI call-center tech. Not a disclosed procurement committee. gastrohealth.com
5. Tools in use?
verifiedCedar Kora conversational voice AI for patient billing calls (live since September 2025); eClinicalWorks office EHR and its Healow telehealth app; AllScripts in clinical research roles; Echosens FibroScan liver assessment; House Rx medically integrated dispensing. EHR evidence is heterogeneous and location- or workflow-specific — not proof of one enterprise EHR. No enterprise-wide scheduling vendor was firmly verified. thebeat.tech
6. Specialties?
verifiedCore: gastroenterology and hepatology — digestive and liver care. Ancillary service lines: endoscopy/colonoscopy, colorectal care, infusion, pathology, anesthesia, imaging, nutrition, specialty pharmacy, metabolic and liver assessment, clinical research. mystethi.com
7. Public comment on patient-access problems?
verifiedYes — CFO Lawrence Freni: "The phones are the biggest detriment to growth and patient satisfaction." Frank Manes has also discussed AI call-center tools for simpler phone/text requests. lifestyle.xbode.org
8. Centralized phones?
partlyA toll-free corporate customer-service number, 1-855-427-8761, appears publicly across listings, but evidence does not establish it as one universal scheduling line; many location pages keep local or regional numbers (e.g., 703-435-3366 in Virginia). Centralized corporate number exists; universal centralized scheduling not proven. pissedconsumer.com
The phone problem, in the CFO's words
"The phones are the biggest detriment to growth and patient satisfaction. You have teammates taking a lot of calls and trying to be patient-focused while the phones keep ringing. Kora is making a real difference, in both our cash flow and our patient satisfaction."
Lawrence G. Freni, CPA, Chief Financial Officer — on Cedar's Kora voice AI, live at Gastro Health since September 2025
Kora handled 60,000+ Gastro Health calls by June 2026; vendor reports cite handle time down 24% and call-center staffing needs down 22%. omegatechnologysolutionsgroupinc.com
COO Philip Meador led the October 2026 House Rx medically integrated dispensing launch to cut patients' time to first dose — a second named access initiative. prnewswire.com
Chief Development Officer Frank Manes has publicly discussed using AI-powered call-center technology to handle simpler phone and text requests amid a gastroenterologist shortage. capitalanalyticsassociates.com
Patient reviews independently flag phone reachability: "Difficulty reaching office staff via phone" appears among common complaints on third-party clinic listings. bestclinicslist.com
Evidence table: all 70 rows
Every row below carries its own source. Topics: technology stack (20), patient access and phones (15), specialties and contact model (15), ownership and governance (8), scale and footprint (8), decision makers (4).
Topic
Finding
Detail
Date
Source
Account intelligence on Gastro Health (gastrohealth.com): 70 shaped evidence rows from 42 independent hosts, collected as of 2026-10-24. Each row holds a topic, finding, detail, publication date, and source URL; counts such as "350+ physicians, 7 states" come from Gastro Health's own October 2026 corporate boilerplate. Syndicated press-release duplicates were kept in the table but de-weighted in the narrative. Detail text is truncated for space; full evidence sits at each linked source.