Speakers

Dr. Kiran Patel was born in Zambia, Africa to Indian parents. He was educated under the British Educational System in Zambia and then got his diplomas from Cambridge University and The University of London. He then went to study medicine at Gujarat University in India and did his Internship in Africa. Dr. Patel did his residency in Internal Medicine in New Jersey in 1980. He completed a fellowship in the cardiology program affiliated with the Columbia University of New York in 1982. Dr. Patel moved to Tampa, Florida in 1982 and began his practice in cardiology. He was very successful and became a distinguished cardiologist in that area. He developed a physician practice management company and expanded throughout the Tampa Bay area, diverging into 14 practices including Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Cardiology.

His success in managed care contracts led a group of doctors to seek his services to help them with an HMO in New Port Richey, Florida. Dr. Patel took up the project after discussing a predetermined purchase option of the company. It was called the Well Care HMO, Inc. (Well Care). In 1992, Dr. Kiran Patel, along with Rupesh Shaw, CEO, and Pradip Patel, President, started a Medicaid managed care company. This company became the largest Medicaid provider in the state of Florida. He also helped to bring around the struggling HMO, WellCare of New York and Connecticut. He worked with more than 95 hospitals and a few hundred physicians in settling past due medical claims. Dr. Kiran Patel provided an additional $15 million in equity through Conversion of Brow and infused $10 million of new capital and acquired 55 percent of the publicly held Well Care Management Group. Between 1995 and 2002, Dr. Kiran Patel built it into a billion-dollar company, providing services to more than 450,000 members, employing more than 1,200 employees and operating in Florida, New York and Connecticut. He is presently serving as Chairman of Visionary Medical Systems. He believes that the Visionary Office will reduce the paperwork for physicians and give them more time to devote to their patients. He is a member of the following organizations: Fellow of American College of Cardiology; American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American Association of Physicians from South East Asia, Past Chair Scholarship Committee.

The Drs. Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel Family Foundation focuses on bettering the world through health, education, and culture. The impact of their extraordinary generosity is evident across the globe, particularly in Florida, India, and Africa. While actively initiating projects, the Drs. Patel also responds in times of need.

When a major earthquake devastated villages throughout Gujarat, India, killing thousands, collapsing buildings and homes, and leaving masses of crippled people and orphaned children, Dr. Kiran C. Patel took action. He united the Tampa Bay community and the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (which he was a member of) and led an effort that rehabilitated villagers’ homes, constructed an orphanage and model school, and created four modern hospitals. More recently, the Patels helped NSU to deliver emergency supplies to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.