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| Dear Friend,
Thriving through recession.
Although history might not repeat itself (but it sure does rhyme), economic cycles do. The trick is in remembering them, or at least in studying them. Sure, some of the details might be different this time around, but it's the cycle that matters.
The points I made back in 2008, the last time we found ourselves at this point, either in or about to whimper into a recession, whether or not those attempting to control language will speak the near-forbidden word, remain true. Let other medical groups bemoan the bad situation they see themselves as in: The fact that they see themselves as commoditized. The fact that investor-owned businesses are the competition. The fact that hospitals are increasingly showing themselves bankrupt and, perhaps, unworthy of trust. Instead, use your time to take advantage of the opportunities that are inherent within the coming creative destruction.
But to do so first requires that you shore up the structure within your group. You must develop strong bonds among the shareholders/partners as well as between the group and its providers. You must take steps to make certain that key individuals remain bound to the group.
You must create a compensation plan that rewards for the leadership efforts that will be required to expand the group's thinking horizon and business opportunities.
You must drop the singular focus on easy business.
You must make the necessary investment to morph your medical group's business, not just cut costs.
The key is not to devote efforts to complaining (it will do you no good, only harm) or to take actions to merely “survive” (the wrong focus entirely).
Instead, the key is to develop and implement strategies to thrive, to fill the vacuum that other medical groups' failure and their blindness to opportunity will leave for you.
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| | | Tuesday - Do You Know When To Switch Negotiators? - Success in Motion
Watch the video here, or just keep reading below for a slightly polished transcript:
I'd like to talk about negotiation, leadership, and the interplay between the two.
Let’s say that you’re a member of a hospital-based medical group. The group could be sized at 10 or 20 members, or two thousand; it doesn’t make any difference. And, let's assume you’re negotiating with a hospital for a new exclusive contract.
Your group has a board or a board equivalent, like a management committee, together with leaders, a group president and so on. It might also have, depending on its size, an executive director.
The group, via the executive director, is negotiating with St. Mark’s Community Memorial Hospital for an exclusive contract. They’ve hit some sticking point. What do you do?
Certainly, there are many strategies for dealing with a sticking point in a contract negotiation. But, consider this: maybe it’s time to switch up the negotiator.
This doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with the executive director’s skills. Instead, it’s just a fact that very often, simply resetting the group’s contracting interface is the way to reset things with the other side.
It’s not a demotion, it’s simply a smart strategic move.
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| | Wednesday - What's Your Story? - Medical Group Minute
Watch the video here, or just keep reading below for a slightly polished transcript: I've written previously about the power of framing – of creating context – to support your group's position in negotiations. For example, framing negotiations around quality, not cost. Or, as an example of the same argument coming from close to the polar opposite, consider the government's argument that accountable care organizations are all about quality, not cost. Related to framing is the power of the story, from the fairy tales that your parents read to you when you were a child to the story of your group and its meaning to the hospital, to referring physicians, to patients, and even to the community at large. A few minutes before writing this, on a whim, I googled "who discovered America?" I found the popular stories of Christopher Columbus, claims that it was actually Leif Ericson or other Vikings, and others citing Chinese explorers. Or was it the Basques? Others pooh-pooh all this and say what about the Native Americans? But even they didn't "come" from here – their ancestors came from Asia. My point isn't who discovered America but rather that there are a number of believable stories about who discovered America. People buy in to the story they believe and discredit the others. So the underlying truth really isn't the point – no one can force you to believe; you do all the "believing" yourself in your own head. Now, of course, it's really not that simple because while someone can't force you to believe, they can certainly create conditions that make it conducive for you to believe. That's the whole point of advertising and sales - telling a story that resonates with you so well that you develop a coherent belief. What story are you telling about your practice? If you're not telling one, or if you're not telling it convincingly, someone else is out there telling another story about you or your group that is likely to be believed. These are not amorphous or esoteric concepts. They have real-world application. They are as much a part of negotiating your next contract, for example, an exclusive contract with the hospital, as in the face-to-face stage of negotiation when you're sitting across the table from one another hammering out paragraph 47. Abe Lincoln learned to write using a piece of charcoal from the fireplace. George Washington cut down the cherry tree and admitted it. What's your story? |
| | | Listen to the podcast here, or just keep reading for the transcript.
Over the course of the past decade or so, carriers have ratcheted down payment and have begun a concerted shift away from compensating independent professionals to employing them directly at greatly reduced levels.
If you read the prior paragraph quickly, you might think that I was addressing compensation paid to physicians, but you'd be wrong. I was focusing on how insurance companies pay their most valuable business generating individuals, their own agents.
On the other hand, you'd still be right, because this is the same basic plan that is playing itself out in respect of the payment of healthcare providers, whether by insurance carriers which are adopting ACO-type reimbursement schemes, or by hospitals, which flipped with jujitsu like skill the business strength of physicians, seen a decade or two ago as the ultimate gatekeepers into the healthcare system, herding doctors into hospital employment at lower and lower compensation.
The future is bleak for independent insurance agents, who have to contend with salaried cubicle workers and online applications.
Unless physicians begin pushing back and begin seeking alternative structures for their practices, the future won't be that different for you.
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| | | Calibrate Your Compass
Read our exclusive RedPaper to guide you through this evolving situation.
The coronavirus crisis caused a short-term economic crisis for many medical groups. Our RedPaper shows you the way out. Plus, many of the concepts discussed are applicable during both good times and bad.
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| | Help Us Help You With Helpful Content
What tailored content would you most like to see during this
time? How can we focus on solutions to your most pressing strategic concerns?
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| | | | We all hear, and most of us say, that the pace of change in healthcare is quickening. That means that the pace of required decision-making is increasing, too. Unless, that is, you want to take the “default” route. That’s the one is which you let someone else make the decisions that impact you; you’re just along for the ride. Of course, playing a bit part in scripting your own future isn’t the smart route to stardom. But despite your own best intentions, perhaps it’s your medical group’s governance structure that’s holding you back.
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| In fact, it’s very likely that the problem is systemic. The Medical Group Governance Matrix introduces a simple four-quadrant diagnostic tool to help you find out. It then shows you how to use that tool to build your better, more profitable future. Get your free copy Free.
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| | | | Whenever you're ready, here are 4 ways I can help you and your business:
1. Download a copy of The Success Prescription. My book, The Success Prescription provides you with a framework for thinking about your success. Download a copy of The Success Prescription here.
2. Be a guest on “Wisdom. Applied. Podcast.” Although most of my podcasts involve me addressing an important point for your success, I’m always looking for guests who’d like to be interviewed about their personal and professional achievements and the lessons learned. Email me if you’re interested in participating.
3. Book me to speak to your group or organization. I’ve spoken at dozens of medical group, healthcare organization, university-sponsored, and private events on many topics such as The Impending Death of Hospitals, the strategic use of OIG Advisory Opinions, medical group governance, and succeeding at negotiations. For more information about a custom presentation for you, drop us a line.
4. If You’re Not Yet a Client, Engage Me to Represent You. If you’re interested in increasing your profit and managing your risk of loss, email me to connect directly. |
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