Growing up in the Upstate South Carolina town of Pelzer, Zack White, M.D. knew that someday he’d want to expand his horizons. After coming to Columbia for college and eventually graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Dr. White has made a home in the Midlands to continue his professional journey. He begins a new chapter by joining Palmetto Primary Care Physicians (PPCP) at their  office on Forest Drive.

“This community keeps growing and growing and offers a great place to raise a family and grow a practice,” Dr. White says. “I like the fact that PPCP is locally owned and operated. We’re invested in the community. That’s what drove me to join the group.”

PPCP is the largest independent, multi-specialty group practice in the state and has been ranked No. 1 for quality by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The practice began 25 years ago in the Lowcountry and expanded to the Midlands in 2018. Since then, it has grown to 45 offices statewide, caring for more than 300,000 patients.

The practice includes more than 120 clinical providers, ranging from internal and family medicine to endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, and physical therapy. PPCP employs more than 550 clinical and non-clinical staff throughout South Carolina. Zack joins a large group of clinical providers practicing in the Columbia division.

PPCP was the first practice in South Carolina and one of the first nationally to establish a successful patient-centered medical home program. This innovative, team-based approach empowers patients to participate in their own health outcomes. PPCP offers resources such as health and wellness programs and can tap into the expertise of behavioral health specialists, dietitians, nutritionists, and pharmacists.

“The words that really capture it for me are continuity and relationship,” Dr. White says. “We’re able to establish relationships with providers in the community and maintain them because we’re independent and not being told who we have to have a relationship with. Patients know who they’re going to be talking to. It’s central to how we do things.”

Dr. White says that approach gives him the ability to be nimble and offer more personalized, cost-effective care while executing at a high level. From health and wellness programs to physical therapy or any of PPCP’s other services, patients experience a care team that acts as an extension of their physician.

“Dr. White’s team-driven approach with continuity of care for patients is a great fit for PPCP,” says Terry Cunningham, PPCP’s chief executive. “As the state’s leading medical group in quality-based outcomes, we have proven over our 25-year history that a team-driven approach, like Dr. White’s, is what allows us to build strong relationships with patients, both inside and outside the walls of our medical offices.”

During his residency, Dr. White researched telemedicine services in primary care and strategies to reduce emergency room visits by family medicine center patients. While nothing replaces the ability to lay hands on a patient, Dr. White says telehealth offers flexibility to both patients and physicians.

“We were one of the first physician groups to offer telehealth medicine when the COVID-19 pandemic started,” he says. “It’s another example of how we’re very nimble in being able to respond to technology and convenience for our patients. It all goes back to being empowered to make decisions to best treat our patients.”

Dr. White earned his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of South Carolina, and he still enjoys following the Gamecocks in his free time, along with cooking, gardening, golfing, traveling with his wife, Courtney, and playing with his daughter, Harper. He is currently accepting new patients. To schedule an appointment, call 803.799.1922. To learn more about PPCP, visit PalmettoPrimaryCare.com.