Mgma Small Talk

In this MGMA Insider podcast, we're joined by Colin Carr, CEO, Carr Healthcare Realty, who discusses the pros and cons of healthcare real estate, and what the key factors are that determine whether healthcare leaders should choose to lease, purchase or even develop the space for their office. In this episode, Colin explains how making the right real estate decision affects your current and future cash flow, taxes, and ability to transition your practice. Key topics include: * The important role real estate plays in your practice * The use of detailed economic analysis to decide on purchase versus lease options * An example of a successful negotiation strategy If you're interested in learning more about healthcare real estate strategies, or hearing Colin speak live, you can join us at MGMA's Annual Conference October 13th-16th in New Orleans. Registration is now open. For more information and to register visit MGMA.com/bigeasy19.

Successful strategic planning in a medical practice begins with a governing board that can identify challenges and opportunities, and provide solutions for the organization. But what is the correct structure and scope of a governing board? To answer that question, we’re joined by Will Latham, President of Latham Consulting Group. Also in this episode of the MGMA Insights Podcast, we’re joined by David Miller, managing partner at HSG Advisors, who discusses the trend of hospital-owned physician networks, which has created dramatic changes in the physician community. Finally, we meet with Kathy McTigue, CEO of PediaTrust, who talks about how practices can become financially integrated after a merger or acquisition. If you would like to learn more about strategic planning, governance, mergers and consolidations in a medical practice, you can attend MGMA’s Annual Conference on October 13th-16th in New Orleans. Registration is now open. For more information and to register, visit MGMA.com/bigeasy19

In this MGMA Insider Podcast, we're joined by Kristen Adams, MA, CMPE, Department Administrator, Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine. As Kristen explains, a major challenge facing medical practices is developing physician compensation plans that reflect their overall strategic vision. She describes how Weill Cornell Medicine chose to move from a fixed to a variable pay model and how the team made that shift through long-term strategic planning. If you're interested in learning more on physician compensation or hearing Kristen speak live, you can join us at MGMA's Annual Conference October 13th-16th in New Orleans. Registration is now open. For more information and to register visit MGMA.com/bigeasy19.

Jim Trounson, longtime MGMA member and founder of MedMan, talks to Senior Fellow David N. Gans, MSHA, FACMPE, about the mindset of the entrepreneurial doctor and what he sees as a coming renaissance for independent practices. Find more Executive Session podcasts and content on the MGMA Executive View page: https://www.mgma.com/executiveview/. Music: "Something Old," Broke for Free (CC BY-NC 3.0)

In this episode of the MGMA Insider, Carrie Koh, CEO and founder of Carrie Koh Consulting, joins MGMA senior editor Daniel Williams to talk about leadership communication, interpersonal efficiency, and what healthcare leaders can do to reach their potential. According to Koh, for leaders to be successful they need to teach “people how to think about things in a new way, so that we can all come together using our strengths, and get more of what we want, get more outcomes that the patients need.” Additionally, Koh says we need to look at “successful high performing leaders and ask what do they do differently?” Additional Resource: If you’re interested in learning more about leadership topics or hearing Carrie Koh speak live, you can attend MGMA’s Annual Conference, October 13th-16th in New Orleans. Registration is now open. For more information and to register, visit mgma.com/bigeasy

In this episode of the MGMA Insider Podcast, Greg Feltenberger, CEO, Idaho Urologic Institute, joins us to provide insights on how healthcare professionals can adopt best practices for benchmarking at their medical practice. In his varied career, Greg has experienced more than 23 years of executive-level and administrative experience in healthcare; is the best-selling author of “Benchmarking Success: The Essential Guide for Medical Practice Managers, 2nd Edition,” published in 2017, and “Benchmarking Success, The Essential Guide for Group Practices,” published in 2008. Greg also is a proud veteran of the U.S. Air Force. In 2014, he retired from the military after 21 years of active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Medical Service Corps as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the U.S. Air Force Academy Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The hospital is the Air Force’s premier hospital/super clinic that provides healthcare services to 30,000 enrollees, including 4,000 cadets, and over 171,000 beneficiar

In this episode of the MGMA Insider podcast, Will Latham, President, Latham Consulting Group, discusses how a medical practice can develop long-range strategic plans. Highlights from the discussion: Consolidation: One of the biggest areas of change over the last few years has to do with the consolidation of all of healthcare. Hospitals are merging. Health Plans are merging. And there's been a huge influx of medical practices merging into hospital systems or being acquired by private equity." Strategy Steps: "Begin with a SWOT analysis. What are the main strengths of the group? What are the main weaknesses? What are the opportunities? What are the threats?" You need to have a better read of who you really are before you can go into problem-solving mode. Retreats: Can be a great way to get out of the office once a year and have the practice's stakeholder go offsite and gauge where the practice is and what needs to be done to raise efficiency and productivity of the practice. ### If you're interested in le

Today, less than half of physicians remain independent! In this MGMA Insights podcast, we explore the reasons behind the high rate of mergers, acquisitions and the overall landscape of medical practice consolidation. We look at key factors including value-based reimbursement, shrinking margins, and record-high healthcare spending as reasons for the transactional activity. But many physicians and practices want to keep their independence, and we also discuss strategic plans and a shift in mindset that details a move from merely running a medical practice to looking at yourself as a business owner to keep your practice privately- or physician-owned. Experts interviewed include: * Isabelle Bibet-Kalinyak, Partner with McDonald Hopkins, LLC * Neil Johnson, Managing Partner at Lawrence, Evans & Co., LLC * Will Latham, President, Latham Consulting Group *Cameron Cox III, CEO, MSOC Health A note for podcast listeners: One key aspect of owning a medical practice is physician and provider compensation. You ca

In this episode of the MGMA Insider podcast, consultant Ken Hertz discusses how a medical practice can develop its mission, vision and values through strategic planning a taking a cue from mapping out a family vacation. Highlights from the discussion Mission: "Your mission is that underlying, guiding foundation, that really sets the tone for the overall practice." Independent Practices: "In a privately-owned practice, it is the responsibility of the physician owner to develop the underlying mission, vision, and values for the practice. Basically, the practice is their business. They hire managers, to protect their business, to run their business effectively and efficiently, to make sure their business is compliant in the law, but it's ultimately the business owners responsibility to set the direction."

In this episode of MGMA Insider we welcome Melissa Phillippi, President and Co-founder, Performance Culture. Melissa recently wrote an article (https://www.mgma.com/data/data-stories/mgma-stat-overview/how-often-is-enough-for-discussing-performance-wit ) focused on "How Often is Enough for Discussing Performance With Medical Practice Employees?" According to Melissa: "There's no one-size-fits-all on how often a manager and employee should meet. It might be different from one manager to another as far as what are the needs in order for that employee and that manager relationship to be as healthy and as successful as possible. At least once a month is what I'd recommend on a frequency, but it could be more frequent if the circumstances demand it, and it could maybe go a month and a half to two months. But I really don't encourage anything past two months of doing this check-in process. If you want to grow as a leader in your organization and help develop a stronger culture in your practice. MGMA’s online se

A trillion dollars! According to a recent Gallup article on workplace employment, U.S. businesses lose a trillion dollars every year to voluntary turnover. In this MGMA Insights podcast, we explore the reasons behind such high employee turnover, and then our subject matter experts reveal the process improvement tools and processes they employ to improve management staff in a medical practice. Experts interviewed include: * Owen Dahl, MBA, LFACHE, CHBC, LSSMBB, Consultant, Author and Educator * Adrienne Lloyd, MHA, FACHE, Chief Administrative Office, Duke Eye Center, Duke Medical Center * Rick Weymier, MBA, FACMPE, Chief Administrative Officer, WB Carrell Memorial Clinic * Melissa Phillippi, President and Co-founder, Performance Culture A note for podcast listeners: If you want to grow as a leader in your organization and help develop a stronger culture in your practice. MGMA’s online seminar, "Transformational Leadership: From the Front Office to the C-Suite" will help you embrace change management and st

In this episode of MGMA Insider, Molly Ramsay, Principal, Corporate Operations Director, and Amber Pedersen, Administrator, both of MedMan Medical Management, join the podcast. With the unemployment rate dropping to a record-low 3.6% in April, a level not seen in 50 years, it’s created an extremely competitive marketplace Ramsay and Pedersen say this moment in history has caused many practices to change their recruitment and onboarding strategies. "I remember five years ago I would post a reception job and get over 70 resumes in the first day of posting," says Ramsay. "This last year, when I posted a reception job, I got probably 30 resumes." Not only are there fewer resumes coming in, but candidates are receiving multiple offers, which has caused additional problems. "We are experiencing applicants not showing up for the interview or accepting our position, but then resigning before they start because they got a better offer," says Pedersen. That's why Ramsay and Pedersen say it's important to "Sta

In this episode of the MGMA Insider podcast, we talk with Deb Wiggs, FACMPE, Founder, V2V Mangement Solutions, about the idea of and philosophy behind Transformational Leadership. Highlights from this conversation include: * The differences between Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership and Servant Leadership *How to influence others in your practice, no matter what level you are in the organization * How to lead whether you are an introvert, an extrovert or a combination of the two * The tools needed to measure transformational leadership and if your new processes and procedures are working * The tools needed to overcome change management in your organization Note to Podcast Listeners: If you’d like to know more about becoming a better leader in your organization, MGMA has an upcoming online seminar, Transformational Leadership: From the Front Office to the C-Suite. This event is May 29 and is designed to help healthcare professionals embrace change management and strategic vision planning

In this episode of MGMA Insider, we welcome Dr. David Hatfield, President and CEO of Hatfield Medical Group and Jim Schafer, Administrator with Hatfield Medical Group. Hatfield and Schafer discuss how their practice is succeeding after implementing a value-based care model. Questions they answer in this episode include: * How they made the shift from fee-for-service to value * What a typical day looks like in their practice versus before their shift * What the best practices they would suggest for others who are pursuing value-based care initiatives or contracts.

In a recent MGMA stat poll, we polled more than 4,000 healthcare leaders, asking them, "What is most important when hiring staff?" Nearly 70% said cultural fit! This gives quantitative data to the often-quoted point that "Culture is King." In this MGMA Insights podcast, we explore the idea of why culture is king and how it impacts the hiring, onboarding and even firing process in medical practices. Experts interviewed include: * Jacob Simon, Executive Vice President, The Medicus Firm * Stefan Jarmusz, Project Analyst, MGMA * Dr. Susan Murphy, author, keynote speaker and business consultant * Molly Ramsay, Principal, Corporate Operations Director, MedMan Medical Management * Amber Pedersen, Administrator, MedMan Medical Management Key points from the podcast: According to Simon, culture impacts every part of an organization, but you have to actually live it every day. "You can have your core values written on your walls," but if the employees aren't embodying those values then it won't matter; you won'

In this special edition of MGMA Insider, we speak with Barb Davis, Senior Vice President of Client Success at CipherHealth. Although Barb has experienced more than 30 years as a healthcare professional, she's here today to share her experience as a patient. While on the snowy slopes of Colorado in December 2016, Barb suffered a tibial plateau fracture. During the course of multiple surgeries, Barb experienced what she now calls, "a number of near misses" and she identified numerous "opportunities for improvement." Her article about her experience as a patient appears at https://www.mgma.com/resources/quality-patient-experience/anatomy-of-errors-my-patient-story Key points from this podcast: *The burden of communication should not lie with the patient * A simple misplacement (of Barb's clothes) led to tremendous distraction * There are plenty of opportunities for improvement of patient care at a systems level * It's easy for a patient to experience "the Swiss cheese model" of falling right through the hol

In this episode of MGMA Insider, we speak with healthcare consultant and process improvement expert Owen Dahl, MBA, LFACHE, CHBC, LSSMBB. Dahl is a medical practice management consultant with more than 40 years of experience in consulting and managing medical practices. Much of his work deals with: * implementation of Lean and Six Sigma principles; * integration of hospital and physician programs; * and staff training in the areas of management and efficiency, In this conversation, he talks about the importance of processes in a medical practice, ways practices can become more efficient, and his thoughts on why the healthcare industry has overcomplicated the way it conducts business. Owen Dahl will lead a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certificate preconference program ahead of MGMA19 | The Annual Conference, Sunday, Oct. 13, in New Orleans. Register today at www.mgma.com/bigeasy19.

In this episode of MGMA Insider, healthcare consultant Tim Smith discusses how survey data is used by professional appraisers and healthcare consultants to value physician compensation in service arrangements or as part of valuing a practice. Smith, who is a skeptic by nature, reveals the need to challenge, test and be wary of data unless it's been tested and analyzed. As Smith says, "When it comes to the business of physician practices, a set of talking points is commonly repeated about the physician marketplace and what physicians earn. These claims are often made by reference to survey data reports, but does the data really support popular beliefs about physician compensation and productivity?" He explains that "it's important to take a deep dive into the data to examine widely held paradigms about physician compensation and productivity" and be willing to be a contrarian and call out information when it isn't back up by the data. As a reminder, Smith can be heard speaking at MGMA19 | The Data Conferen

Developing physician leadership has long been a challenge for the healthcare industry. Physicians are often seen as leaders in a medical practice but many don't have the skills they need to reach their potential as leaders. Keith Olson is the Director of Physician Consulting Services at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and is here to discuss steps to take to successfully develop physician leaders. Also in this episode, Barbara Sharpless, Director of Physician Services at BayCare Medical Group, discusses the current state of physician recruiting and retention. Barbara sheds light on the current state of the physician job market and explains the dynamics at play that gives physicians the leverage in the negotiation process. Finally, we talk to David Norris about financial intelligence for physicians. David is a practicing cardiac anesthesiologist in Wichita, KS, a consultant at David Norris, LLC, and author of the Financially Intelligent Physician: What They Didn’t Teach You in Medic

How often have you heard someone say, “we’ve always done it that way?" The truth is, we too often depend upon traditions, emotions, politics, and anecdotes to make critically important business and management decisions. In this episode of MGMA Insider, Frank Cohen, MBB, MPA, Director of Analytics, Doctors Management LLC, discusses the history of critical thinking and the use of evidence in the form of data, statistics, and analysis in a medical practice. As Cohen explains, "Evidence-based thinking (EBT) incorporates techniques such as critical thinking, analytics, decision theory and problem-solving to improve our management skills and outcomes." Cohen will deliver the opening keynote address on evidence-based thinking at MGMA19 | The Data Conference, Thursday, May 16 in Orlando, Florida. The conference will run May 16-18 at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Podcast listeners interested in more information about this user group conference or looking to register can go to mgma.com/datacon