Here are four leadership tips for orthopedic practice presidents to maintain a successful practice.
1. Handle disagreements between physicians with compromise. All physicians in orthopedic practices have a wealth of knowledge and opinions about practice management, says Rich Battista, MD, president and physician with OAA Orthopaedic Specialists in Allentown, Pa. The elected leaders are the liaisons between practice physicians and administrators and reconcile the needs of the clinical practice with the board of directors. "The physicians at OAA operate very democratically," says Dr. Battista. "We try to think about what is best for the organization while taking into account individual needs." Sometimes, however, physicians and administrators disagree about the best ways to solve problems and make decisions for the practice.
The best solution is often agreeing to disagree, agreeing to compromise and looking forward, says Dr. Battista. If a particular physician is constantly hindering the decision-making process, it could be necessary to part ways with that individual for the betterment of the group. "At times, making group decisions can be like herding cats. We've not been immune to partners making the professional decision to leave the organization," says Dr. Battista.
2. Delegate responsibilities and establish a system of checks-and-balances. Though physicians are capable of tackling practice management and billing responsibilities, it is inefficient use of the physician's time to deal with these types of issues. Physicians should entrust a capable individual(s) with practice management responsibilities or outsource these tasks in order to focus on providing the best treatment for their patients. "The trick is to make sure you're delegating to the right people. The policy of forcing everything to run through a central authority makes the company stagnate because it just isn't efficient," says Jay Nussbaum, CEO of Healthcare Watchdog. "The doctor needs to learn to delegate both internally and externally."
When delegating tasks, make sure to split tasks among practice staff with some overlap in order to establish redundancy and ensure the tasks are completed accurately. This means staff members should establish a system of checking each other's work for mistakes. If tasks, such as billing, are done correctly, the practice saves money. At Watchdog, Mr. Nussbaum says there are several checks and balances among the employees. "We always need to make sure that no one instance of human error will cost a client of ours a dime.
3. Incorporate employees from all levels in strategy meetings. At the quarterly strategy meetings, the Virginia Spine Institute gathers employees from all levels of the organization to discuss what the current initiatives from each department and how they can improve, says Thomas Schuler, MD, a spine surgeon, founder of the Virginia Spine Institute. "These meetings build ownership by the employees of the organization," says Dr. Schuler. If your philosophy is to be more inclusive rather than exclusive it has a direct effect on participation and buy in with changes and improvements to processes and procedures.
In the strategy meetings, the participants discuss a diverse range of topics, including the perceptions or misperceptions of patients at the practice and issues among employees. At one meeting, the Practice Administrator decided to revamp the organization's healthcare benefits because employees were unhappy with that aspect of their compensation. Changes in the way information is disseminated to patients, the process for checking patients in and out of the clinic and how employees are educated at the clinic occurred as a result of these meetings.
4. Admit to mistakes when necessary. An important aspect of maintaining respect from physicians is earning their trust, which means admitting to failures. If, after extensive consideration, the administrator's decision produces negative results, the administrator must identify these failures and collaborate with the physicians to work through them. "If the administrator makes a mistake, he or she should go to the physicians and tell them and then figure out what needs to be done," says Patrick Hinton, executive director of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Orthopaedic Institute. This will earn the physician's trust, he says.
1. Handle disagreements between physicians with compromise. All physicians in orthopedic practices have a wealth of knowledge and opinions about practice management, says Rich Battista, MD, president and physician with OAA Orthopaedic Specialists in Allentown, Pa. The elected leaders are the liaisons between practice physicians and administrators and reconcile the needs of the clinical practice with the board of directors. "The physicians at OAA operate very democratically," says Dr. Battista. "We try to think about what is best for the organization while taking into account individual needs." Sometimes, however, physicians and administrators disagree about the best ways to solve problems and make decisions for the practice.
The best solution is often agreeing to disagree, agreeing to compromise and looking forward, says Dr. Battista. If a particular physician is constantly hindering the decision-making process, it could be necessary to part ways with that individual for the betterment of the group. "At times, making group decisions can be like herding cats. We've not been immune to partners making the professional decision to leave the organization," says Dr. Battista.
2. Delegate responsibilities and establish a system of checks-and-balances. Though physicians are capable of tackling practice management and billing responsibilities, it is inefficient use of the physician's time to deal with these types of issues. Physicians should entrust a capable individual(s) with practice management responsibilities or outsource these tasks in order to focus on providing the best treatment for their patients. "The trick is to make sure you're delegating to the right people. The policy of forcing everything to run through a central authority makes the company stagnate because it just isn't efficient," says Jay Nussbaum, CEO of Healthcare Watchdog. "The doctor needs to learn to delegate both internally and externally."
When delegating tasks, make sure to split tasks among practice staff with some overlap in order to establish redundancy and ensure the tasks are completed accurately. This means staff members should establish a system of checking each other's work for mistakes. If tasks, such as billing, are done correctly, the practice saves money. At Watchdog, Mr. Nussbaum says there are several checks and balances among the employees. "We always need to make sure that no one instance of human error will cost a client of ours a dime.
3. Incorporate employees from all levels in strategy meetings. At the quarterly strategy meetings, the Virginia Spine Institute gathers employees from all levels of the organization to discuss what the current initiatives from each department and how they can improve, says Thomas Schuler, MD, a spine surgeon, founder of the Virginia Spine Institute. "These meetings build ownership by the employees of the organization," says Dr. Schuler. If your philosophy is to be more inclusive rather than exclusive it has a direct effect on participation and buy in with changes and improvements to processes and procedures.
In the strategy meetings, the participants discuss a diverse range of topics, including the perceptions or misperceptions of patients at the practice and issues among employees. At one meeting, the Practice Administrator decided to revamp the organization's healthcare benefits because employees were unhappy with that aspect of their compensation. Changes in the way information is disseminated to patients, the process for checking patients in and out of the clinic and how employees are educated at the clinic occurred as a result of these meetings.
4. Admit to mistakes when necessary. An important aspect of maintaining respect from physicians is earning their trust, which means admitting to failures. If, after extensive consideration, the administrator's decision produces negative results, the administrator must identify these failures and collaborate with the physicians to work through them. "If the administrator makes a mistake, he or she should go to the physicians and tell them and then figure out what needs to be done," says Patrick Hinton, executive director of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Orthopaedic Institute. This will earn the physician's trust, he says.