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Embracing a New Competitive Practice Culture
By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™
[Publisher-in-Chief]
There are more than 900,000 physicians in the United States. Yet, the brutal supply/demand/demographic calculus of the matter is that there are just too many aging patients chasing too few doctors. Compensation and reimbursement is plummeting as Uncle Sam becomes the payer-of-choice for more than 52% of us. And, the government as payer will likely increase with the Obama Administration. So, going forward, it is not difficult to imagine the following four rules for a new-wave competitive medical care culture for all physicians.
[A] Rule No. 1
Forget about large office suites, surgery centers, fancy equipment and the bricks and mortar that comprised traditional medical practices. One doctor with a great idea, good bedside manner or competitive advantage, can outfox a slew of CPAs, while still serving the public and making money. It’s a unit-of-one healthcare economy where “ME Inc.”, is the standard and physicians must maneuver for advantages that boost their standing and credibility among patients and payers. Examples include patient satisfaction surveys, the rise of evidence-based medicine; outcomes research analysis, concierge medicine, direct reimbursement payment plans, and economic credentialing; etc.
[B] Rule No. 2
Challenge conventional wisdom, think outside the traditional payer box, recapture your dreams and ambitions, disregard conventional gurus and work harder – and smarter – than you have ever worked before. Remember the old saying, “if everyone is thinking alike, then nobody is thinking”. Do insurance panel members think rationally or react irrationally?
However, you should realize the power of networking, vertical integration and the establishment of virtual medical practices, which come together to treat a patient, and then disband when a successful outcome achieved. Job security in this structure is achieved with successful outcomes, and perhaps not necessarily a degree in the near future. Medical futurists even presume the establishment of virtual medical schools and hospitals, where students and doctors learn and practice their art on cyber-entities that look and feel like real patients, but are generated electronically through the wonders of virtual reality units.
[C] Rule No 3
Differentiate yourself among your medical peers. Do or learn something new and unknown by your competitors. Market your accomplishments and let the world know. Be a non-conformist. The conformity of health insurance plans are an operational standard and a straitjacket on creativity. Doctors should create and innovate, not blindly follow entrenched medical society leaders into oblivion. Seek, and practice, health 2.0 collaboration with all stakeholders.
[D] Rule No 4
Realize that the present situation is not necessarily the future. Attempt to see the future and discern your place in it. Master the art of the quick change and fast but informed decision making. Do what you love, disregard what you don’t, and let the fates have their way with you. Then, decide for yourself if health plans adhere to any of the above rules?
Assessment
Regardless of the future de facto business model of the learned profession of medicine, current practice models are no longer the structure of choice. Rather, a more laissez-faire and highly competitive business model should be pursued. Physicians have been slow to accept this philosophy. Remember, as a physician, if you merely want a static job with promised security, pledged retirement benefits, limited goals and structured regulations; join a health plan panel and become their laborer.
However, if you desire more, such as the possibility of a dynamic career, the unlimited security of your brainpower, non-defined retirement contributions, infinite potential with rules you can create along the way; incorporate the power of ME, Inc., in everything you do. Remain a competitive professional and be a physician ... Get fly!
Conclusion
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Filed under: Career Development, Ethics, Glossary Terms, Health Economics, Health Insurance, Health Law & Policy, Healthcare Finance, iMBA, Inc., Managed Care, Practice Management, Subscribe CD-ROM Journal | Tagged: Comparative Medical Effectiveness, competition, concierge medicine, CPAs, david marcinko, direct reimbursement, healthcare competition, outcomes research, physician economic credentialing |
I can’t argue with a word you are saying. However, I am not sure that I can understand what the purpose is? Are we talking about private practice? Generally, it takes a few weeks for me to get into the doctor’s office. I can’t afford it when I get there, but I like my doctor (No, I couldn’t afford it if I went somewhere else, and it would take longer to get in …). It is a private practice …
Terra
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Dr. Marcinko,
Excellent article and I agree with you 100%. Most physicians in private practice are entrepreneurial, and competitive, otherwise they would not be physicians (had to compete to get into medical school, right?), or running successful practices. If they lose their competitive edge, or would rather not be creative and entrepreneurial, then they can work for a hospital system or some other large organization and have a J.O.B., instead of a business they can control and directly influence.
Doctors (and their private practice) are as individual as their varied patients, so one size will not fit all. I personally believe that the private practice model will be more nimble and able to deliver better patient care by being more niched, more focused on their own communities, than any large lumbering hospital system can be.
Change is coming for everyone, patients, hospitals and private practices. Using concepts you write about in this article will enable private practices to thrive and patients to get the excellent care they deserve.
Richard Berning; MD
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ME-P Featured on PrivatePractice.MD
By Ann Miller
[Executive Director]
We were recently featured on PrivatePractice.MD by Richard Berning, MD http://www.privatepractice.md Kind words prompted us to reprint his comments on the above ME-P article “The Power of Me Inc for Physicians.”
Link: http://privatepractice.md/2009/06/physicians-in-private-practice-need-to-be-entrepreneurs/#more-316
Physicians in Private Practice Need to be Entrepreneurs
By Richard Berning; MD
It is more important than ever for private practice physicians to sharpen their entrepreneurial edge, as changes in the wind suggest that you are going to be asked to work harder and maybe for less pay (if you don’t make changes). I am hoping that we private practice physicians have our advocates in Washington, so we won’t be asked to shoulder the brunt of reform that might occur. A private practice can adapt and innovate faster and more creatively than the government and large plodding hospital organizations. We can manage our cash flow and finances, add services, use technology, and have other advantages that will enable our survival.
But there’s no doubt the classic private practice paradigm of the last 50 years will disappear and new practice models will evolve. It’s fair to say, I think, that no two practices will be completely alike and instead there will be many versions. Some of the “reformers” might argue that all medical and healthcare practices should operate like McDonald’s and in some practice settings maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad approach.
To counter that opinion and state the obvious, patients are individuals, and require tailored specific care, unlike a hamburger that gets cooked exactly 90 seconds on each size. The tailored-care approach makes much more sense to me. Personalized care will be the new paradigm, in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, stem cell solutions to diseases and in every direction healthcare is improving and evolving today. Private practices can deliver personalized tailored care better than any other practice model. Practices should partner with the government or big institutions, perhaps, to benefit from their resources of scale, but the private practice will be the best vehicle to deliver the personalized care of the (near) future to our large and diverse population. Physicians as entrepreneurs will make that care happen.
Dr. David Marcinko, over at the http://www.HealthcareFinancials.com website wrote an interesting article recently entitled “The Power of ‘Me, Inc’ for Physicians” that reflects my thoughts exactly. Give it a read. His website and service has much to offer physicians running their own business, their own private medical practices.
Assessment
So, let’s give a big “shout-out” and collegial ME-P welcome to the newly launched http://www.PrivatePractice.MD and wish Richard, and his staff, much good luck. Their motto? Doctors Helping Doctors.
Ann
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