New Medical Practice Entrepreneurial Business Rules for Young Physicians [circa 2022]

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Go “Out-of-Box” – OR – Go Employee

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™ www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

There are more than 950,000 physicians in the United States. Yet, the brutal supply and demand, and 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. More so, going forward with the PP-ACA OR, perhaps not so much after the Trump election.

Furthermore, many large health care corporations, hospitals, and clinical and medical practices have not been market responsive to this change. Some physicians with top-down business models did not recognize the changing health care ecosystem or participatory medicine climate. Change is not inherent in the DNA of traditionalists. These entities and practitioners represented a rigid or “used-to-be” mentality, not a flexible or “want-to-be” mindset.

Yet today’s physicians and emerging Health 2.0 initiatives must possess a market nimbleness that cannot be recreated in a command-controlled or collectivist environment. Going forward, it is not difficult to imagine the following rules for the new virtual medical culture, and young physicians of the modern era.

A. Rule 1

Forget about large office suites, surgery centers, fancy equipment, larger hospitals, and the bricks and mortar that comprised traditional medical practices. One doctor with a great idea, good bedside manners, or competitive advantage can outfox a slew of insurance companies, Certified Public Accountants, or the Associate Management Accountant, while still serving patients and making money. It is now a unit-of-one economy where “ME Inc.,” is the standard. Physicians must maneuver for advantages that boost their standing and credibility among patients, peers, and payers.

Examples include patient satisfaction surveys, outcomes research analysis, evidence-based-medicine, direct reimbursement compensation, physician economic credentialing, and true patient-centric medicine. Physicians should realize the power of networking, vertical integration, and the establishment of virtual offices that come together to treat a patient and then disband when a successful outcome is achieved. Job security is earned with more successful outcomes; not a magnificent office suite or onsite presence.

B. Rule 2

Challenge conventional wisdom, think outside the traditional box, recapture your dreams and ambitions, disregard conventional gurus, and work harder than you have ever worked before. Remember the old saying, “if everyone is thinking alike, then nobody is thinking.” Do traditionalists or collective health care reform advocates react rationally or irrationally?

For example, some health care competition and career thought-leaders, such as Shirley Svorny, PhD, a professor of economics and chair of the Department of Economics at California State University, Northridge, wonder if a medical degree is a barrier—rather than enabler—of affordable health care. An expert on the regulation of health care professionals, including medical professional licensing, she has participated in health policy summits organized by Cato and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She argues that licensure not only fails to protect consumers from incompetent physicians, but, by raising barriers to entry, makes health care more expensive and less accessible.

Institutional oversight and a sophisticated network of private accrediting and certification organizations, all motivated by the need to protect reputations and avoid legal liability, offer whatever consumer protections exist today.

C. Rule 3

Differentiate yourself among your health care peers. Do or learn something new and unknown by your competitors. Market your accomplishments and let the world know. Be a non-conformist. Conformity is an operational standard and a straitjacket on creativity. Doctors must create and innovate, not blindly follow entrenched medical societies into oblivion.

For example, the establishment of virtual medical schools and hospitals, where students, nurses, and doctors learn and practice their art on cyber entities that look and feel like real patients, can be generated electronically through the wonders of virtual reality units.

D. Rule 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 quick change with fast, but informed decision making. Do what you love, disregard what you do not, and let the fates have their way with you.

Assessment

I receive a couple of phone calls each month from young doctors on this topic. I ask them to decide if they are of the philosophical ilk to adhere to the above rules; or become another conformist and go along … to get along? In other words, get fly!

Or, become an employed, or government doctor.  Just remember … the entity that gives you a job, can also take it away.

Sample fly: http://crossoverhealth.com/

MORE: Marriage Business

Conclusion

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Dr. Marcinko Interviewed on Physician Retirement and Succession Planning

imba inc

                  Physicians Have Unique Challenges, Opportunities

By Ann Miller RN MHA CMP

[Executive-Director]

Medical Executive-Post Publisher-in-Chief, Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™, and financial planner Paul Larson CFP™, were interviewed by Sharon Fitzgerald for Medical News, Inc. Here is a reprint of that interview.

Doctors Squeezed from both Ends

Physicians today “are getting squeezed from both ends” when it comes to their finances, according Paul Larson, president of Larson Financial Group. On one end, collections and reimbursements are down; on the other end, taxes are up. That’s why financial planning, including a far-sighted strategy for retirement, is a necessity.

Larson Speaks

“We help these doctors function like a CEO and help them quarterback their plan,” said Larson, a Certified Financial Planner™ whose company serves thousands of physicians and dentists exclusively. Headquartered in St. Louis, Larson Financial boasts 19 locations.

Larson launched his company after working with a few physicians and recognizing that these clients face unique financial challenges and yet have exceptional opportunities, as well.

What makes medical practitioners unique? One thing, Larson said, is because they start their jobs much later in life than most people. Physicians wrap up residency or fellowship, on average, at the age of 32 or even older. “The delayed start really changes how much money they need to be saving to accomplish these goals like retirement or college for their kids,” he said.

Another thing that puts physicians in a unique category is that most begin their careers with a student-loan debt of $175,000 or more. Larson said that there’s “an emotional component” to debt, and many physicians want to wipe that slate clean before they begin retirement saving.

Larson also said doctors are unique because they are a lawsuit target – and he wasn’t talking about medical malpractice suits. “You can amass wealth as a doctor, get sued in five years and then lose everything that you worked so hard to save,” he said. He shared the story of a client who was in a fender-bender and got out of his car wearing his white lab coat. “It was bad,” Larson said, and the suit has dogged the client for years.

The Three Mistake of Retirement Planning

Larson said he consistently sees physicians making three mistakes that may put a comfortable retirement at risk.

  1. The first is assuming that funding a retirement plan, such as a 401(k), is sufficient. It’s not. “There’s no way possible for you to save enough money that way to get to that goal,” he said. That’s primarily due to limits imposed by the Internal Revenue Service, which allows a maximum contribution of $49,000 annually if self-employed and just $16,500 annually until the age of 50. He recommends that physicians throughout their career sock away 20 percent of gross income in vehicles outside of their retirement plan.
  2. The second common mistake is making investments that are inefficient from a tax perspective. In particular, real estate or bond investments in a taxable account prompt capital gains with each dividend, and that’s no way to make money, he said.
  3. The third mistake, and it’s a big one, is paying too much to have their money managed. A stockbroker, for example, takes a fee for buying mutual funds and then the likes of Fidelity or Janus tacks on an internal fee as well. “It’s like driving a boat with an anchor hanging off the back,” Larson said.

Marcinko Speaks

Dr. David E. Marcinko MBADr. David E. Marcinko MBA MEd CPHQ, a physician and [former] certified financial planner] and founder of the more specific program for physician-focused fiduciary financial advisors and consultants www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org, sees another common mistake that wreaks havoc with a physician’s retirement plans – divorce.

He said clients come to him “looking to invest in the next Google or Facebook, and yet they will get divorced two or three times, and they’ll be whacked 50 percent of their net income each time. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Marcinko practiced medicine for 16 years until about 10 years ago, when he sold his practice and ambulatory surgical center to a public company, re-schooled and retired. Then, his second career in financial planning and investment advising began. “I’m a doctor who went to business school about 20 years ago, before it was in fashion. Much to my mother’s chagrin, by the way,” he quipped. Marcinko has written 27 books about practice management, hospital administration and business, physician finances, risk management, retirement planning and practice succession. He’s the founder of the Georgia-based Institute of Medical Business Advisors Inc.

ECON

Succession Planning for Doctors

Succession planning, Marcinko said, ideally should begin five years before retirement – and even earlier if possible. When assisting a client with succession, Marcinko examines two to three years of financial statements, balance sheets, cash-flow statements, statements of earnings, and profit and loss statements, yet he said “the $50,000 question” remains: How does a doctor find someone suited to take over his or her life’s work? “We are pretty much dead-set against the practice broker, the third-party intermediary, and are highly in favor of the one-on-one mentor philosophy,” Marcinko explained.

“There is more than enough opportunity to befriend or mentor several medical students or interns or residents or fellows that you might feel akin to, and then develop that relationship over the years.” He said third-party brokers “are like real-estate agents, they want to make the sale”; thus, they aren’t as concerned with finding a match that will ensure a smooth transition.

The only problem with the mentoring strategy, Marcinko acknowledged, is that mentoring takes time, and that’s a commodity most physicians have too little of. Nonetheless, succession is too important not to invest the time necessary to ensure it goes off without a hitch.

Times are different today because the economy doesn’t allow physicians to gradually bow out of a practice. “My overhead doesn’t go down if I go part-time. SO, if I want to sell my practice for a premium price, I need to keep the numbers up,” he noted.

Assessment

Dr. Marcinko’s retirement investment advice – and it’s the advice he gives to anyone – is to invest 15-20 percent of your income in an Vanguard indexed mutual fund or diversified ETF for the next 30-50 years. “We all want to make it more complicated than it really is, don’t we?” he said.

QUESTION: What makes a physician moving toward retirement different from most others employees or professionals? Marcinko’s answer was simple: “They probably had a better shot in life to have a successful retirement, and if they don’t make it, shame on them. That’s the difference.”

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Conclusion

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FINANCE: Financial Planning for Physicians and Advisors
INSURANCE: Risk Management and Insurance Strategies for Physicians and Advisors

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Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and Asset Protection Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™8Comprehensive Financial Planning Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™
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How to become a board CERTIFIED MEDICAL PLANNER®

HOW TO BECOME A BOARD

CERTIFIED MEDICAL PLANNER®

[Two Program Matriculation Options Available]

http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

CURRICULUM: Enter CPMs

[PHYSICIAN FOCUSED FINANCIAL PLANNING AND RISK MANAGEMENT COMPANION TEXTBOOK SET]

  Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and Asset Protection Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™     Comprehensive Financial Planning Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™

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The Financial Planner’s Responsibility?

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Are Consumers Losing Ethical Ground?

By Rick Kahler MS CFP http://www.KahlerFinancial.com

Rick Kahler MS CFPSuppose one of my clients has his heart set on using half of his retirement account to buy each of his grandchildren a new car.

Or, a physician-client in a panic over falling markets wants to sell all her stocks and buy gold. What is my responsibility as their financial planner? How far should planners go to try to keep clients from making serious financial mistakes?

Just as with the patient engagement, it’s important for planners to respect clients’ competence and ability to make their own life decisions. Client-centered planners also need to remember that the goal is to help clients get what they want, not what the planner might want or think the client should want.

On the other hand, should a planner stand idly by and watch someone walk off what the planner perceives as the edge of a financial cliff?

Potential Answers?

Part of the answer to this dilemma stems from a planner’s legal obligation. Most advisors who sell financial products have no fiduciary duty and are not legally required to put their customers’ interests first. Fiduciary advisors, which include those who are fee-only, do have a legal obligation to act in their clients’ best interests.

Fiduciary Responsibility

Doctors, clergymen and attorneys are fiduciaries. But, what is the legal responsibility of a fiduciary financial planner who believes clients are about to do themselves financial harm?

Example:

Let’s say I have a client who is about to do something that may be viewed by a court of law as “extreme” or “imprudent.” (An example would be putting all his money into one asset class like gold, cash, penny stocks, etc.) At the minimum, I would need to protect myself by carefully fulfilling my legal responsibilities. This would include making certain I emphasized to the client that, given the research and data available, his actions could hurt him financially. I also would want to be sure the client fully understood and took responsibility for his actions.

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comedy

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In terms of the broader aspect of what financial planners owe to their clients, meeting this legal obligation is not enough. In my view, fiduciary planners’ obligation to put clients’ interests first includes an ethical responsibility to do no harm. Sometimes this ethical and legal responsibility requires planners to give clients information they may not want to hear.

As we focus on the clients’ goals and help them carry out their wishes, part of our role is to make sure they have all the information they need. This gives us a responsibility to educate ourselves so the advice we offer is as sound as we can make it. We also need to do whatever we can to help clients hear and understand that advice.

Clients who are hovering on the edge of a financial cliff are typically about to act out of strong emotions such as fear. They often can’t take in financial advice until they are able to move through that fear. It only makes things worse if financial advisors shame clients, bully them, or abandon them to their fears. The challenge for planners is to help clients reach a more rational place so they can gather additional information and make decisions that will serve them well.

Industry Update is Not Good – Give Up the ‘Fiduciary’ Fight

According to industry pundit Bob Veres, so-called Financial Advisors need to face a hard truth – Independent Registered Investment Advisors [RIAs] have lost this round.

But, we already told you so on this ME-P.

Fortunately, there are other better ways to set yourself in the medical ecosystem.

The Certified Medical Planner™ Designation

A Certified Medical Planner is a fiduciary at all times.

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Assessment

With the right kind of support, clients are almost always able to get past the fear that is pushing them to make imprudent decisions. Providing such support by working with clients’ emotions and beliefs about money, perhaps with the help of a financial therapist or financial coach, is well within a financial planner’s ethical responsibility. Our role is not merely to do no harm. It is also to use all the tools we have to help clients act in their own best interests.

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Conclusion

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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

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Financial Planning MDs 2015

Comprehensive Financial Planning Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™

How Much is a Financial Advisor Really Worth?

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And … Can it be Quantified?

Doctors and FAs

[By Staff Reporters]

How much of a boost in net returns can financial advisors add to client portfolios? According to Vanguard Brokerage Services®; maybe as much as 3%?

The Study

In a recent paper from the Valley Forge, PA based mutual fund and ETF giant, Vanguard said financial advisors can generate returns through a framework focused on five wealth management principles:

Being an effective behavioral coach: Helping clients maintain a long-term perspective and a disciplined approach is arguably one of the most important elements of financial advice. (Potential value added: up to 1.50%).

Applying an asset location strategy: The allocation of assets between taxable and tax-advantaged accounts is one tool an advisor can employ that can add value each year. (Potential value added: from 0% to 0.75%).

Employing cost-effective investments: This component of every advisor’s tool kit is based on simple math: Gross return less costs equals net return. (Potential value added: up to 0.45%).

Maintaining the proper allocation through rebalancing: Over time, as investments produce various returns, a portfolio will likely drift from its target allocation. An advisor can add value by ensuring the portfolio’s risk/return characteristics stay consistent with a client’s preferences. (Potential value added: up to 0.35%).

Implementing a spending strategy: As the retiree population grows, an advisor can help clients make important decisions about how to spend from their portfolios. (Potential value added: up to 0.70%).

Source: Financial Advisor Magazine, page 20, April 2014.

networking advisors

The Fine-Print

But, Vanguard notes that while it’s possible all of these principles could add up to 3% in net returns for clients, it’s more likely to be an intermittent number than an annual one because some of the best opportunities to add value happen during extreme market lows and highs when angst or giddiness [fear and greed] can cause investors to bail on their well-thought-out investment plans.

More: http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

Assessment

Most retail financial services products are designed to enhance the well-being of the Financial Advisor and/or vendor at the expense of clients. The clients get only the leftovers. Of course, no one tells them that secret. They have to figure it out for themselves. As the old line goes, “Where are the customers’ boats?”

Source: Rowland, M: Planning Periscope [Where Advisors are the Clients]. Financial Advisors Magazine; page 36, April 2014

Conclusion

Are doctors different than the average investors noted in this essay?

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Certified Medical Planner™ Program “In-the-News”

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Post-CFP® Subject Matter Expertise

By Ann Miller RN MHA [iMBA Inc., Executive Director]

Mike Kitces MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC an uber-financial services blogger over at www.Kitces.com had this to say about us in a recent essay: Finding Your Niche Or Specialization With Post-CFP Designations

The News Essay

CMP (Certified Medical Planner) – The CMP™ designation was created by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™ [reformed CFP®] and the team at the Institute of Medical Business Advisors, Inc., (who also produced the “Financial Planning Handbook for Physicians and Advisors“). It is intended for advisors who aim specifically to serve physicians and the medical community. Content focuses not only on the insurance and investment issues relevant to physicians, but also provides an understanding of the business of medical practices themselves so advisors can help work with their physician clients to have more successful businesses as well.

CMP™ Practitioner Testimonials

I am happy to give my unbiased, unpaid opinion on the CMP™ program to anyone considering the course.

David K. Luke MS-PFP, MIM, CMP™ [Net Worth Advisory Group]

9980 South 300 West, Suite 110 Sandy, Utah 84070

david.luke@networthadvice.com

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CMP™ Practitioner Testimonials

I am in favor and support the CMP™ program and curriculum … but just like any other academic curriculum, it is an “accretive academic” program rather than an instant “change of life” program.  I use the material that I learned on a regular basis, but I cannot say that I use it every day.  You will be more able to “talk-the- talk” of the physicians if you have completed the CMP™ curriculum. I would do it again!

Savant recently hired a physician, Dr. Brian Knabe MD as an advisor. He is leaving the medical field, transitioning out, and entering the field of financial services. He has enrolled in this curriculum. Let me know if you wish to discuss.

Thomas A. Muldowney MSFS CFP® ChFC CLU CRC CMP® AIF®

[Savant Capital Management, Inc®]

190 Buckley Drive – Rockford, IL 61107 Tel 815-227-0300 – Fax 815-226-2195

Tmuldowney@savantcapital.com

caution

Assessment:

Link: What Comes After CFP Certification? Finding Your Niche Or Specialization With Post-CFP Designations

Visit: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

Visit: Enter the CMPs

Conclusion

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Fiduciary Financial Advisor versus Non-Fiduciary FAs

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Understanding the Difference

Dr. DEMBy Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™

GOAL: To understand the difference between fiduciaries and non-fiduciaries, examine the SEC conduct rules.

Stock-Brokers (non-fiduciaries) are subject to FINRA Conduct Rule 2310(a) which reads:

In recommending to a customer the purchase, sale or exchange of any security, a member shall have reasonable grounds for believing that the recommendation is suitable for such customer upon the basis of the facts, if any, disclosed by such customer as to his security holdings and as to his financial situation and needs.

A fiduciary follows a higher standard of conduct: 

A fiduciary duty is an obligation to act in the best interest of another party. A fiduciary obligation exists whenever the relationship with the client involves a special trust, confidence and reliance on the fiduciary to exercise his discretion or expertise in acting for a client. A person acting in a fiduciary capacity is held to a high standard of honesty and full disclosure in regard to the client and must not obtain a personal benefit at the expense of the client.

Five primary responsibilities as a fiduciary to clients are:

  • To always put clients’ interest first
  • To act with utmost good faith
  • To provide full and fair disclosure of all material facts
  • Not to mislead clients, and
  • To expose all conflicts of interest and all compensation to clients.

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Assessment

Conclusion

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BLOG: www.MedicalExecutivePost.com
FINANCE: Financial Planning for Physicians and Advisors
INSURANCE: Risk Management and Insurance Strategies for Physicians and Advisors

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More on the Doctor Salary “WARS” – er! ah! … CONUNDRUM!

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Compensation Trend Data Sources

cropped-dem

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

[Editor-in-Chief] www.BusinessofMedicalPractice.com

Related chapters: Chapter 27: Salary Compensation and Chapter 29: Concierge Medicine and Chapter 30: Practice Value-Worth

 

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PERSONAL PREAMBLE

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Physician compensation is a contentious issue and often much fodder for public scrutiny. Throw modern pay for performance [P4P], and related metrics, into the mix and few situations produce the same level of emotion as doctors fighting over wages, salary and other forms of reimbursement.

This situation often springs from a failure of both sides to understand mutual compensation terms-of-art when the remuneration deal was first negotiated. This physician salary and compensation information is thus offered as a reference point for further investigations.

Introduction 

More than a decade ago, Fortune magazine carried the headline “When Six Figured Incomes Aren’t Enough. Now Doctors Want a Union.” To the man in the street, it was just a matter of the rich getting richer. The sentiment was quantified in the March 31, 2005 issue of Physician’s Money Digest when Greg Kelly and I reported that a 47-y.o. doctor with 184,000 dollars in annual income would need about 5.5 million dollars for retirement at age.

Of course, physicians were not complaining back then under the traditional fee-for-service system; the imbroglio only began when managed care adversely impacted income and the stock market crashed in 2008.

Today, the situation is vastly different as medical professionals struggle to maintain adequate income levels. Rightly or wrongly, the public has little sympathy for affluent doctors following healthcare reform. While a few specialties flourish, others, such as primary care, barely move.

In the words of colleague Atul Gawande, MD, a surgeon and author from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, “Doctors quickly learn that how much they make has little to do with how good they are. It largely depends on how they handle the business side of practice.”  And so, it is critical to understand contemporary thoughts on physician compensation and related trends.

Compensation Trend Data Sources

A growing number of surveys measure physician compensation, encompassing a varying depth of analysis. Physician compensation data, divided by specialty and subspecialty, is central to a range of consulting activities including practice assessments and valuations of medical entities. It may be used as a benchmarking tool, allowing the physician executive or consultant to compare a practitioner’s earnings with national and local averages.

The Medical Group Management Association’s (MGMA’s) annual Physician Compensation and Production Correlations Survey is a particularly well-known source of this data in the valuation community. Other information sources include Merritt Hawkins and Associates; and the annual the Health Care Group’s, [www.theHealthCareGroup.com] Goodwill Registry.

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Portfolio analysis

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Assessment

However, all sources are fluid and should be taken with a grain of statistical skepticism, and users are urged to seek out as much data as possible and assess all available information in order to determine a compensation amount that may be reasonably expected for a comparable specialty situation. And, realize that net income is defined as salary after practice expenses but before payment of personal income taxes.

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.

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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:

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The Future of Retirement, the Power of Planning

By Lon Jefferies CFP® MBA

Lon JeffriesHSBC recently published an article titled “The Future of Retirement, the Power of Planning” which compares the circumstances of investors who work with a financial planner to those who invest on their own. The goal of the study was to determine if there is a benefit to working with an investment professional.

The Survey

The survey categorized survey respondents as non-planners, advice-seeking non-planners, self-guided planners, and advice seeking planners.

The Psychological Profile

  1. Non-planners have done nothing by way of financial planning or obtaining financial advice. This group represented 38% of all respondents.
  2. Advice-seeking non-planners are individuals who do not have a financial plan, though they do seek professional financial advice from time to time. They are likely to seek advice about one particular need rather than taking holistic, comprehensive advice. This group made up 12% of all respondents.
  3. Self-guided planners have a financial plan in place but do not seek professional expertise to help them make sense of their finances. Members of this group are likely to be younger, internet savvy, and mid-to-high income earners. This group accounted for 22% of respondents.
  4. Advice-seeking planners have a financial plan and utilize a financial professional to help manage their finances. Members of this grouping are more likely to be approaching retirement or retired, and are typically more wealthy. They made up 28% of survey respondents.

Errors

The most glaring findings of the study is the importance of a financial plan. Those with advisor directed financial plans have nest-eggs that are over four times as large as those without plans. Further, consistently working with a financial planner seems to add significant value; Advice-seeking planners had nest-eggs that were 57% larger than self-guided planners.

Why?

The Financial Engines & AON Hewitt report that investors who manage their investments with the aid of a financial advisor are more diversified, take less risk, and obtain better returns than self-directed investors. In fact, advisor directed investors were found to increase their returns by 2.92% per year after expenses!

Lastly, if you are curious how the size of your nest-egg compares to that of the average American worker, you might be shocked.

Homestead

Excluding the value of a primary residence and defined benefit plans (pensions), 60% of American workers have less than $50k in savings and investments, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Moreover, 79% have less than $100k saved. Only 10% of workers have accumulated a nest-egg of over $250k.

Now, how does this compare with doctors and medical professionals; of today and yesterday. How about you? What about a fiduciary focused Certified Medical Planner www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org?

Assessment

Conclusion

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Fixing the Mental Health Infrastructure of the US

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The Political Topic Du Jour

By David K. Luke MIM CMP™ www.NetWorthAdvice.com

David K. LukeThe sad events of the recent tragedy which occurred in at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut where 20 children and 6 adults were killed painfully reminds us of two problems that are not going away in the United States: continued gun violence and untreated mental illness.

As a Father I could not bear to watch the news coverage. Resolving the problem of high gun violence in this country typically leads to an emotional debate over gun control and gun rights, a debate that in the past has ended with both sides drawing the line and little being accomplished. Politicians that would like to be reelected avoid this emotionally charged hot potato like a leper colony with the hope that the Topic Du Jour will change quickly back to how they can reduce taxes, increase entitlements, or frankly any other issue that will ensure their livelihood for the current elected term. In the meantime, this stalemate is unnecessarily costing the lives of our innocent children and productive citizens that happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Commonalities

The common thread to almost all of the tragic public gun violence episodes in the past few decades is that the shooter is suffering a serious mental illness. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year according to the National Institute of Mental Health (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index.shtml).

Unique among the developed countries is the position of the United States that those with mental illness, like those with any other disease, can receive treatment as long as they pay for it. Those that can’t or choose not to pay for it often end up in dire straits in one of our emergency rooms (the de facto health care solution in the United States for the uninsured) forcing our overworked and understaffed emergency room health professionals to deal with the problem and our hospital systems with spiraling unpaid ER bills. As a country that was founded on the principles of self-reliance and freedom of choice, we recognize the fact that some individuals may prefer not to pay for their health care by electing to not have private health insurance. Lest we become too judgmental of our fellow citizens that do not have health insurance, we should be reminded that our for-profit health insurance industry in the United States that provides the largest portion of payment for healthcare services also precludes individuals that are unhealthy from purchasing coverage. This is done by hiking premiums to unaffordable levels or simply by flat issuing a denial of coverage. So individuals with mental illness, even those diagnosed with mild depression, are often branded by the system that considers mental health issues as preexisting conditions.

Which brings about the question:  How does an individual with a mental health illness in the US normally get medical treatment?

Link: Chapter 07: Workplace Violence

Standard Protocol

Normally, the individual sees their primary care physician, talks about the problem, is diagnosed by the physician and receives treatment, which often includes prescription medications. The individual’s private health insurance plan (or Medicare or Medicaid, depending on the age or financial qualification of the individual), covers all this with typically a small or no copay at the doctor’s office. If a medication is prescribed, the drug (often a generic) is covered typically by a small copay at the pharmacy. Further checkups and treatment are all typically covered by insurance with little money out-of-pocket.

Here are the complications to the “normal” answer regarding an individual with a mental illness in the United States seeking help:

Reasons Mental Illness Goes Untreated That Involve Lack of Access to Medical Care

  1. The individual does not have insurance.  The cost to treat the problem may be considered unaffordable.
  2. The individual has insurance but the mental illness has been ruled a preexisting condition and is not covered under the policy. The cost to treat the problem may be considered unaffordable.
  3. The individual does not see a health service provider on a regular basis and may not realize that they are sick with a mental illness or consider that it is just stress or a temporary mood change.

Reasons Mental Illness Goes Untreated In Spite of Access to Medical Care

  1. The individual considers seeing a physician for such an issue to be a hassle or too time consuming. Some primary care practices in some parts of the country require a long wait to be scheduled and then a long wait in the waiting room to be seen.
  2. The individual would like to receive treatment for their mental illness, but knows that such treatment will be recorded on their medical records and likewise have repercussions that could include such events as losing their job, tarnishing their reputation in their community, family, church, or other organization, or denying them access to a gun license, pilot’s license, medical licenses, etc. Military service people and police officers, for example can be rightfully disqualified from their positions if certain mental illnesses were revealed on a medical record. Also having a mental illness on their medical record could increase their cost to get life insurance or their ability to get new health insurance should they leave their current employer. Likewise many of these individuals may seek help “off the record” or may avoid seeking help all together and simply “man up” as expected.
  3. The individual, for reasons mentioned above and regardless of medical care access, avoids professional medical care and self-diagnoses their mental illness. Likewise, an individual suffering from severe depression may decide that they have only mild depression and based on “Dr. Google” may start a regimen of Vitamin B, a chromium supplement, and some St. John’s Wort. Self-treatment of mental illness issues with easy access to information and prescription drugs through the internet lulls some individuals into a false sense that they are on the road to recovery when their condition can actually worsen.
  4. The individual may know they need help, may have access to qualified medical help, but may be discouraged from seeking help due to a trusted family member or friend that assures them professional medical help is not necessary. I have even witnessed a loving father tell his diagnosed schizophrenic son who had just experienced a manic episode to “shake it off and be happy”. Can you imagine telling your child who suffers from a serious chronic disease such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes to just “shake it off and be happy”?
  5. The individual perceives that continued medical treatment of their mental illness could threaten their personal freedoms, by resulting in a court ordered commitment to a psychiatric facility for example. Fearing such restrictions, the individual cuts off all medical treatment. In fact recent news is now coming forth that Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old Sandy Hook shooter, had been taken to a psychiatrist by his mother and was in fear of being committed to a facility, which may have been part of the motive for the mass shooting spree, which included the killing of his mother.

[Re-Thinking our Gun Control Dialog]

Gun control dialog

Will the PP-ACA Fix Our Maligned Mental Health Care System?

Mental health services are a part of the services provided under the Affordable Care Act. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which was signed into law in 2008, also helped increase coverage that includes mental health services by requiring employers with more than 50 workers to cover them at the same level as other medical conditions offered by the insurance plan.

In other words, the plan could not provide fewer inpatient hospital days or require higher out-of-pocket costs for mental health conditions. It is still possible however for larger employers to not offer mental health coverage in their insurance plans even after 2014. The ACA will require small group and individual plans however to offer the coverage in 2014 through health exchanges created under the law. An individual that earns less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level may be eligible for Medicaid coverage in 2014, which offers mental health benefits.

It is estimated that as many as 30 million people will gain insurance coverage and likewise mental health care beginning in 2014. Some estimates are lower, with the expectation that many will forgo the mandated insurance coverage and pay the “tax” instead. Even with more Americans having access to mental health care, many will opt to forgo such care as outlined above in “Reasons Mental Illness Goes Untreated In Spite Of Access To Medical Care”.

For those folks we can fault the independent American spirit, good old fashioned stubbornness, the desire to avoid any stigma attached to mental illness, or simply the desire to be unencumbered by a system that threatens to “lock you up and put you away” for your disease. As with the case of Adam Lanza, access to mental health care does not mean the disease is cured or that the patient is an obedient, willing participant.

Assessment

Sadly, preventing another Sandy Hook from occurring is impossible. Whether or not the gun debate this time around will produce any results remains to be seen. Where is the limit of personal freedoms? However, with increased mental health access beginning in 2014 and with increased mental health awareness and acceptance we can hope that such events in the future will be less common.

About the Author:

David K. K. Luke focuses on helping physicians and successful retirees with financial planning, investment and risk management. In the past 24 years of industry experience, David has held licenses including general securities registered representative, registered investment advisor, Branch management supervision, and Life, Accident, and Health Producers.  David, a fee-only advisor, is able to help his clients to achieve peace of mind and greater assurance with their financial goals by giving advice and providing investment management that is in their best interest, untainted by commissions or sales objectives. Likewise, in a true fiduciary capacity, he is able to help investors determine the reliability and suitability of products and services that they have been sold by other advisors. David began his career managing money in 1986 in the General Motors of Canada Banking and Investments department where he was engaged in cash management, foreign currency hedging, and the debt issuance of a $100 million Eurobond and a $300 million Note Issuance facility. In 1988 as Supervisor of Borrowings for GMAC Canada David was responsible for the daily average issuance of $125 million in short-term Commercial Paper. David worked as a stock broker and portfolio manager for 2 major national brokerage firms (A.G. Edwards and Wachovia Securities) from 1989 to 2008. Additionally, at Wachovia Securities David was among an elite group of financial advisors approved as a PIM (Private Investment Management) Portfolio Manager. Prior to joining Net Worth Advisory Group in 2010, David managed his own independent firm, Luke Wealth Strategies, working as a registered representative and investment advisor.

He is also a Certified Medical Planner™ charterholder: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

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REPRINT: This re-publication is provided as a service to our readers, as we mourn the children and victims of the Newtown, Conn massacre. The workplace – healthcare setting analogy is self-evident.

Hospital Workplace Violence Risk Factors

[An NIOSH Summary and Review]

By Dr. Eugene Schmuckler MBA CTS

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

Domestically, the impact of workplace violence in the US became widely exposed on November 6, 2009 when 39 year old Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal M. Hasan MD, a 1997 graduate of Virginia Tech University who received a medical doctorate in psychiatry from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, and served as an intern, resident and fellow at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the District of Columbia, went on a savage 100 round shooting spree and rampage that killed 13 people and injured 32 others.

In April 2010 he was transferred to Bell County Jail in Belton, Texas. An Article 32 hearing, which determined whether Hasan would be fit to stand trial at court martial, began on 12 October 2010. Hasan subsequently deemed fit, was arraigned on July 20 2011 and trial was scheduled for March 2012. It was rescheduled again, but is now ongoing and in the news; almost daily.

The NIOSH

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) summarizes the risk factors for occupational violence to hospital workers. These include:

  • working directly with volatile people, especially if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol or have a history of violence or certain psychotic diagnoses;
  • working when understaffed — especially during meal times or visiting hours;
  • transporting patients and long waits for service;
  • overcrowded, uncomfortable waiting rooms;
  • working alone;
  • poor environmental design;
  • inadequate and/or ineffective security;
  • lack of staff training and policies for preventing or managing crises with potentially volatile patients;
  • drug and alcohol abuse;
  • access to firearms;
  • unrestricted movement of the public; and
  • poorly lit corridors, rooms, parking lots, and other areas.

Occupational Violence 

Violence occurring in other occupational groups is most often related to robbery. In healthcare settings, however, acts of violence are most often perpetrated by patients or clients. Family members who feel frustrated, vulnerable, and out of control; and colleagues of patients (especially when the patient is a gang member) are also identified as perpetrators of abuse! However, the presence of co-workers has been identified as a potential deterrent to assault in healthcare.

Healthcare and social service workers face an increased risk of work-related assaults stemming from several factors, including:

  • the prevalence of handguns and other weapons — as high as 25% among patients, their families, and friends. Handguns are increasingly used by police and the criminal justice system for criminal holds and the care of acutely disturbed, violent individuals;
  • the increasing number of acute and chronically mentally ill patients now being released from hospitals without follow-up care, who now have the right to refuse medicine and who can no longer be hospitalized involuntarily unless they pose an immediate threat to themselves or others;
  • the availability of drugs or money at hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, making staff and patients likely robbery targets;
  • situational and circumstantial factors such as:
    • unrestricted movement of the public in clinics and hospitals;
    • the increasing presence of gang members, drug or alcohol abusers, trauma patients, or distraught family members;
    • long waits in emergency or clinic areas, leading to client frustration over an inability to obtain needed services promptly;
  • low staffing levels during times of specific increased activity such as meal times, visiting times, and when staff is transporting patients. This also includes isolated work with clients during examinations or treatment;
  • solo work, often in remote locations, particularly in high crime settings, with no back up or means of obtaining assistance such as communication devices or alarm systems;
  • lack of training of staff in recognizing and managing escalating hostile and assaultive behavior; and
  • poorly lighted parking areas.

OSHA

The Guidelines established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) seek to set forth procedures leading to the elimination or reduction of worker exposure to conditions causing death or injury from violence by implementing effective security devices and administrative work practices, among other control measures. Healthcare professionals need to be aware that violence can occur anywhere and in any practice settings.

In hospitals and clinics, which are more likely to report incidents of violence than private offices, the most frequent sites are:

  • psychiatric wards;
  • acute care settings;
  • critical care units;
  • community health agencies;
  • homes for special care;
  • emergency rooms; and
  • waiting rooms and geriatric units.

Impact

The impact of workplace violence is far-reaching and affects individual staff members, co-workers, patients/clients, and their families. Those who have been affected, directly or indirectly, by a workplace violence incident report a broad spectrum of responses — anger is the most common. There are also reports of:

  • difficulty returning to work;
  • decreased job performance;
  • changes in relationships with co-workers;
  • sleep pattern disturbance;
  • helplessness and symptoms for post-traumatic stress disorders;
  • fear of other patients; and
  • fear of returning to the scene of the assault.

Assessment

Link: Chapter 07: Workplace Violence

More: Medical Workplace Violence

BREAKING NEWS: 3 shot in Alabama hospital *** Two die in Nev. hotel shooting

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Does it Seem Like this … Sometimes?

MD versus FA

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Assessment

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Do Clients Trust Financial Advisors More than Doctors or CPAs?

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I Think … Not in My Universe

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™

[Editor-in-Chief]

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

Survey after survey has shown that the public does not trust the financial services industry; it was – in fact, the least trusted industry in a recent Rick Edelman survey.

John Hancock?

But, perhaps they were looking at the wrong industries, or maybe investors just don’t trust your firm. A new survey by John Hancock shows that investors with assets of $200,000 or more, trust their financial advisor [FA] more than their primary doctor, accountant, contractor/handyman, boss and real estate agent. It was penned by one young staff writer named Diana Britton.

Link: http://wealthmanagement.com/blog/clients-trust-you-more-doctors-cpas?NL=WM-04&Issue=WM-04_20120611_WM-04_597&YM_RID=marcinkoadvisors%40msn.com&YM_MID=1318408

My View Point is Pretty Unique

Now, I am a doctor and board certified surgeon who held Series #7, #63 and #65 securities licenses, and was a Certified Financial Planner® for more than a decade. I was registered with a BD, SEC and NASD/FINRA, and held life, health and PC insurance licenses. This is the so-called “dual registration” to earn commissions and fees.

And, I’ve got a current partner who is a doctor-CPA who has a Master’s Degree in Accounting.  So, I know from whence I speak.

An Insurance Company!

Now, I resigned all of the above financial services monikers because of their lack of education and fiduciary accountability. These are sales licenses, certifications to hold a certification, and related gimmicks, all. Insurance agents have a duty to the company, not the client. Always ask them to put your best interests ahead of their own – in writing before hire – and watch them run.

Assessment

I suspect this study from an insurance company is less than accurate. How do I know? My gut heuristics tell me. Agency law tells me. No surveys needed or damn statistics for me. How about you? OR, are the marketing and PR gurus winning the public opinion battle with their insurance company advertising chicanery? ie., Hancock’s the future is yours!

If really so, here is my razzy for them.

 
Note: It is for the above reasons, and more, that we started the www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org online education program for financial advisors and management consultants that truly want to be trusted.

Conclusion

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Rating Financial Advisors and Doctors Like Toasters

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On Finding a Good Physician and Financial Planner in 2012

[By staff reporters]

What happens when patients and clients are able to compare the performance of primary care physicians and financial advisors? Well, for the first time ever, we’re about to find out.

RATING DOCTORS:

Consumer Reports for Doctors

Consumer Reports, best known for rating the nuts and bolts of cars, household appliances and other electronics, is getting into the business of rating primary care doctors.

The magazine is getting ready to mail out ratings for nearly 500 adult, family and pediatric physician practices in Massachusetts, the first step in a multistate project to evaluate doctors the way it has rated consumer products for decades.

RATING FINANCIAL ADVISORS:

AdviceIQ

www.AdviceIQ.com is an online service that educates all consumers about the need to hire a trusted, local financial advisor, while giving all pre-vetted advisors exposure to local investors. Also, their FAs write insightful articles that inform the public about investing and wealth management, and they syndicate them to top-branded media sites around the country.

BrightScope® for Wealth Managers and Plan Sponsors

BrightScope, Inc. is a financial information company that brings transparency to opaque markets. Delivered through web-based software, BrightScope data drives better decision-making for individual investors, corporate plan sponsors, asset managers, broker-dealers, and financial advisors.

BrightScope primarily operates in two major segments: Retirement Plans and Wealth Management: http://www.brightscope.com/

Assessment

Ultimately, we hope and believe that the reliability of the data, the credibility of the organizations responsible for the research and reporting, and a process based on collaboration and the desire for continuous improvement, will combine to gain the confidence of clients and patients alike and help advance the cause of patient-centered health care and fiduciary focused financial planning.

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

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