A Due-Diligence ‘Condom’ for Physician Investors

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Join Our Mailing List

Using Financial Advisors with Increased Safety

[By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™]dr-david-marcinko8

Following the Bernie Madoff investment scheme, and related financial industry scandals, here are seven “red-flags” that should have alerted physician-investors to proceed with extreme caution. Always consider them before making an investment with any financial advisor [FA], registered representative [RR] or financial advisory firm, regardless of reputation, size, referral recommendation or so-called industry certifications and designations. In other words, according to Robert James Cimasi; MHA, AVA, and a Certified Medical Planner™ from Health Capital Consultants LLC, of St. Louis, MO;” trust no one and paddle your own canoe.”

Red Flags of Cautious Investing

As a former insurance agent, financial advisor, registered representative, investment advisor and Certified Financial Planner™ for more than a decade, the existence of any one of the following items may be a “red-flag” of caution to any investor:

  • Acting as its’ own custodian, clearance firm or broker-dealer, etc.
  • Lack of a well-known accounting firm review with regular reporting.
  • Unreliable or sporadic written performance reports.
  • Rates-of-return that don’t seem to track industry benchmarks.
  • Seeming avoidance of regulatory oversight, transparency or review.
  • Lack of recognized written fiduciary accountability in favor of lower brokerage “sales suitability” standards.
  • No Investment Policy Statement [IPS]. 

Assessment

Let a word to the wise be sufficient going forward. But, in hindsight, a healthy dose of skepticism might have prevented this situation in the first place. As is the usual case, fear and greed often seem to rule the day. Just as there is no such thing as safe sex – just safer sex – there is no thing as safe intermediary investing. But, exercising some common sense will surely make investing with any financial advisor much safer. It’s like a condom for your money. 

For more information on the topic of fiduciary standards – which we have championed for the last ten years in our books, texts, white-papers, journal and online educational Certified Medical Planner™ program for FAs – watch out for our exclusive Medical Executive-Post interview with Bennett Aikin AIF®, Communications Coordinator of www.fi360.com coming in March. Ben, an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® did a great job with the tough questions submitted by our own Ann Miller; RN, MHA and Hope Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™. Don’t miss it!

Disclaimer

I am the Managing Partner for http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org and I agree with this message.

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

Product Details

***

Filed under: "Advisors Only", "Doctors Only", Ethics, Financial Planning, iMBA, Inc., Investing, Op-Editorials, Research & Development | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Tragedy at William Beaumont Army Medical Center

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
Join Our Mailing List
Thousands at Risk from Needle Contamination

[By Staff Reporters]

56372274

According to Derek Shore of Veterans Today, on February 7, 2009, the Army Medical Center announced that 2,114 diabetic patients treated at the hospital may be at risk for contracting blood-borne illnesses.

Improper Insulin Injections

Hospital administrators reported to local station, KFOX, that diabetic patients at the hospital were being injected with insulin improperly. A medical injection pen was being used on more than one patient. Even though the needle was changed with each patient, there are fears the insulin reservoir may have contained diseases from past patients, which has sparked the fear of contamination.

Assessment

Doctors said the patients could be at risk of being given blood-borne diseases from August 2007 until Friday, February 6, 2009.

William Beaumont Army Medical Center has set up a toll-free hotline at 1-866-770-0194.

Link: http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4726

Channel Surfing the ME-P

Have you visited our other topic channels? Established to facilitate idea exchange and link our community together, the value of these topics is dependent upon your input. Please take a minute to visit. And, to prevent that annoying spam, we ask that you register. It is fast, free and secure.

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

Product Details  Product Details

Filed under: "Doctors Only", Breaking News, Ethics, Health Law & Policy, Military Medicine, Quality Initiatives | Tagged: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

IBM and Google Health

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Join Our Mailing List

[Partners for Online Personal Health Records

By Staff Reporters]

computer-hardwareAccording to MarketWire, February 5, 2009, IBM, Google and the Continua Health Alliance [CHA] announced new software that will enable personal medical devices used for patient monitoring, screening and routine evaluation to automatically stream data results into a patient’s Google Health Account [GHA] or other Personal Health Records [PHR].

PHR Value Extension

This breakthrough extends the value of PHRs to patients and also helps to ensure that such records are current and accurate at all times. Once stored in a PHR, the data can also be shared with physicians and other members of the extended care network at a user’s discretion.

Daschle and e-Health Reform

Of course,Tom Daschle’s recent decision to withdraw his nomination as the Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS] secretary clouds hopes that President Obama will make significant progress on health-care reform in his first 100 days in the White House. But the problems of unaffordable medical bills and millions of uninsured are not going away, and a deepening recession has more Americans feeling worried about their jobs and insecure about their health benefits.

Assessment

The breakthrough of this triumvirate extends the value of PHRs to consumers and also helps to ensure that such records are current and accurate at all times. Once stored in a PHR, the data can also be shared with physicians and other members of the extended care network at a user’s discretion.

Channel Surfing the ME-P

Have you visited our other topic channels? Established to facilitate idea exchange and link our community together, the value of these topics is dependent upon your input. Please take a minute to visit. And, to prevent that annoying spam, we ask that you register. It is fast, free and secure.

google3

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details

Filed under: Information Technology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments »

Hospital Financial Capital Capacity

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

An Economic Risk Measurement

By Calvin Weise; MBA, CPAho-journal5

Hospital capital capacity is all about risk.

A Risk Measurement

Since capital investments have risks associated with them, capital capacity is a measurement of how much risk a hospital can bear. Capital capacity is not simple to determine. Capital investments introduce varying levels of risk, depending on the relative uncertainty of the benefits to be derived.

For example, one million dollars invested in an MRI at a hospital that has a two-month backlog for scheduling MRIs has much lower risk than $1 million invested in a new service like a PET scanner.

Profit Margins

Profit margins affect capital capacity. Larger profit margins create larger capacity for uncertainty which implies more risk and that means more capital capacity. Higher liquidity means more capital capacity. Lower debt leverage means more capital capacity. Liquidity and leverage are balance sheet ratios. Both imply capacity to absorb uncertain outcomes; both affect capital capacity.

Capital Determinations

Determining capital capacity is more art than science because of the variability in risk presented by various capital investments and the subjectivity associated with trying to measure that uncertainty.

That having been said, it is important to build models that estimate capital capacity. Most capital capacity models ignore the variability in risk presented by capital investments. They are typically built from published rating agency financial ratio medians. These models are based on the view that financial ratios of similar rating categories represent equivalent risks.

Of course, this is a simplistic view as it suggests that credit analysts simply categorize risk on the basis of financial ratios. It is not the case as the recent financial meltdown has demonstrated. Even the major credit rating agencies have been implicated as suspect; of late

Assessment

Published medians are the result of credit analysis, not the basis for credit analysis. Importantly, what is not usually published is the range or distribution around these medians. Models that estimate risk need to differentiate among risks presented by capital investments. Capital investments with little risk should consume less capital capacity than capital investments with a lot of risk.

Link: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. How does your practice, medical clinic or hospital measure and report capital risk; does it?

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

Our Other Print Books and Related Information Sources:

Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=23759

Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790

Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

Subscribe Now: Did you like this Medical Executive-Post, or find it helpful, interesting and informative? Want to get the latest E-Ps delivered to your email box each morning? Just subscribe using the link below. You can unsubscribe at any time. Security is assured.

Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos

Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details       

Filed under: Accounting, Health Economics, Healthcare Finance, iMBA, Inc., Investing, Practice Management | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »