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| Dear Friend,
You might be Scrooged.
Money. Power. Status. Popularity. The four human interest motivators.
What does this mean for physicians in the context of a hospital-centric healthcare future?
The hospital will control the money, but due to the need to use fair market valuation studies as backup for compliance purposes, which will lead to a spiraling down of physician compensation, sooner or later doctors' incomes will be as predictable as government employee classifications.
Power will be tempered by cookie-cutter reliance on so-called best practices and by strictly enforced treatment pathways.
Status will decline with income and with the fact that physicians will cease to be the only "doctors" among the plethora of degree-laden providers.
And, popularity will wane as physicians become back room technologists once or twice removed from most direct patient care which will be delivered by advanced practice nurses and other paraprofessionals.
You might think that Charles Dickens has come back to write some new lines for the ghost of Christmas future, but alas, unless physicians act to move the healthcare solar system's center back onto them and away from hospitals, this future is inevitable.
So you see, this isn't Dickens' story: A Christmas Carol had a happy ending – this may turn out to be a tragedy.
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| | Wednesday - Why You Must Know This Stipend Negotiation Strategy: Think Like a Buyer Not a Seller - Medical Group Minute
Watch the video here, or just keep reading below for a slightly polished transcript: It sounds simple, but in reality, it’s very difficult.
Difficult, that is, to control what appears to be a built-in human nature: The impulse, when dealing with a potential deal partner, to have the mindset of a seller.
Let’s step back for a moment.
Note that I said “mindset” to distinguish the concept of inner talk and expectations from the fact of the matter that you will still engage in activities to, in essence, “sell” the deal, as you desire it, to the potential deal partner, whether we’re talking about a deal with a hospital, a hospital system, a referral source, or with anyone else.
It’s one thing to have the mindset that you need to convince the opposite side to engage your services, or to acquire whatever it is that you’re providing, or, on point with current times, to provide substantial stipend support to your group. However, and here’s the point, it is an entirely different thing to do so from the mindset that you are somehow less than, or will be lucky to receive it, or that you are some sort of a supplicant to the other side.
The best way to put this is that even when you are, in actuality, selling, your mindset should be that of a buyer. Would you buy what the other side is selling you?
Let’s put this into a very easy to understand context.
Even in the situation in which your entity is doing a deal, for example, with a hospital system, in which the system will be providing substantial stipend support to you, don’t negotiate as if that stipend support is a gift or a handout or a “May we have more please?”. Instead, view the deal and evaluate it as if you are a buyer of that relationship, with something extremely valuable to offer.
Let your deal partner prove itself worthy of you.
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| | | Listen to the podcast here, or just keep reading for the transcript.
As hard as it is for me to say, it's been 40 years since I had my summer job at McDonald's.
Yet after all this time, I remember some of the standards-enforcing mechanisms the franchise used, from written instructions on how each of the food items was to be prepared, to cards bearing sayings such as "When you have time to gripe, you have time to wipe," and, my perennial favorite, "When you have time to lean, you have time to clean."
No, I'm not suggesting that your medical group should have "cheat cards" as detailed as this. But your group needs to portray an image, an image of a unified group, and it takes work for you, as a group leader, to accomplish that.
All of this accrues to your benefit or to your detriment when you are contracting with the hospital or contracting with your employed or subcontracted physicians.
On the other hand, if you think these little details are unimportant, then stop to wonder why McDonald's, which certainly doesn't make the best hamburger, sells billions of them.
Not convinced? Then I want you to know that your competitors thank you for making it easier for them.
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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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