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| Dear Friend,
Big data might be big, but is the data actually of any use?
According to a February 18, 2021, article in the Wall Street Journal, IBM is considering the sale of its touted-to-be-game-changing big data crunching wizard, Watson Health.
Although the venture has big top line revenue, around $1 billion a year, it’s a consistent money loser.
It appears that the overall feeling inside IBM isn’t that it’s IBM’s fault, it’s just that doctors don’t seem that interested in turning over decision making to a machine. Go figure.
And that brings me to the point of this post.
Big data and business decision making, especially in your practice, are two very different things. I’m not qualified to tell you about the dangers as relate to the domain of medical practice, but I’m certainly qualified to tell you about the dangers as they relate to the domain of healthcare business.
Data is data, but it isn’t decision making. Artificial intelligence isn’t intelligence, it’s just a tool.
Yes, so-called “big data” is a faster tool with more inputs than, say, notes written on index cards spread out across the floor because there’s no more room to tape them to the walls.
But no amount of data should ever be confused with making a decision.
Instantly being able to vet the financial performance of an acquisition target against thousands of other similar targets, or being able to assess the combination of education and training across tens of thousands of x-ologists to gauge your new hire, do not supplant, or come even close to supplanting, your own judgment concerning the decision. Decision-making can’t be outsourced.
Oh, I can hear someone saying, “But without all of the data, there’s more risk.” But big data, simply as a function of being tremendously big, suffers from the problems of noise.
There is far more data, but how much of it is bullshit? And, of course, there is no reward without risk. (With the exception of being a government employee.)
It makes you wonder if those who have opted for big data as a decision making tool as opposed to a decision support tool, are simply afraid to make decisions themselves or are preselecting a scapegoat.
Think of it this way: IBM’s Watson, for all of it big data, couldn’t figure out that it’s essential intended audience, physicians, didn’t want to use it. |
| | | Business Life in the Time of Coronavirus Mini-Series
The coronavirus crisis caused a short term economic crisis for many medical groups. Our mini-series shows you the way out. Plus, many of the concepts discussed are applicable during both good times and bad.
[If you haven't already seen them, follow this link to watch our entire series.] |
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Tuesday - Why You Must Know the Business Lesson in a Decades-Old Children's Magazine - Success in
Motion - ReduxWatch Tuesday's video here, or just keep reading below for a revised, more polished transcript:
Earlier this morning, for just some reason, I was thinking of being back in the pediatrician’s office when I was a kid.
My doctor was named Dr. Glazier. He was a pretty nice guy, as I remember. Although, when I picture him, I see him in those almost barber-like white smocks that doctors wore decades ago, probably because the profession came out of barbering. But that's another story.
Anyway, in his lobby they always had issues of Highlights magazine. I have no idea if they still publish Highlights magazine, but it was a magazine for kids.
There were puzzles inside the magazine. And, they had cute little stories. There was an ongoing set of stories with a moral; I can't remember what they were called, but the two characters were Goofus and Gallant. Maybe that was the name of the series.
As I recall, Goofus and Gallant were brothers. Goofus was obviously the one who took shortcuts and ended up screwing things up. Gallant was always the one who was studying and doing what was appropriate, and, as a result, was extremely successful.
Obviously, Goofus and Gallant were supposed to be role models, one the negative, one the positive, for how we, the young kids reading the magazine, were supposed to behave in order to grow and become successful.
For many of us in professions, those lessons were important in terms of being someone who is diligent and who studies, who becomes someone who is always trying to figure out how to do things the "right" way.
But then reality hits.
The problem is that in business, as opposed to a course of study, or a science, it's not that simple. Beginning that new venture or opening that new office, or making even an important business decision is not engineering a bridge, yet we tend to approach it Gallant-style as opposed to Goofus-style. We wait and never pull the trigger until it is perfect.
So, consider this: In many senses, Goofus was the better role model in terms of taking action in business, that is, in a domain in which nothing is ever perfect.
Think about it.
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| | How to Deploy the Secret Sauce of Opportunistic Strategy
Webinar On Demand
They say that COVID-19 has changed the world, creating the "new normal." Many of your colleagues and many hospital administrators are running scared.
Others, leaders like you, know that crisis means opportunity.
Let me provide you with the strategic tools and insights that you need in order to seize opportunities, whether they’re in the context of your current business relationships, the expansion of your business activities, or the creation of new ventures.
You will learn:
•Defense as a defective default: It’s necessary, but not sufficient.
•Exploiting weakness: Drop the guilt and identify opportunity.
•Flat line negotiation is fatal: Understand its myths and limitations.
•Negotiation reality: Learn to identify and deploy on multiple planes to affect the outcome.
•Maneuver: Harness the power of maneuver, both in overall strategy and in specific negotiation strategy.
Others see a crisis and freeze in fear. Learn how to see the opportunities and obtain the tools to increase your odds of obtaining them.
The price to attend is $479. The cost of not attending is astronomical. |
| | | Wednesday - Medical Practice Admits Guilt. Pays $100 Million. Physician President Now Indicted. - Medical
Group Minute
Watch the video here, or just keep reading below for a slightly polished transcript:
It’s a crime, a violation of antitrust law, to conspire to allocate a market, thus driving up price. It’s particularly egregious when the conspiracy involves the market for medical care for cancer treatment.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the coordinated filing
of a one-count felony charge against Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (“FCS”), an oncology group headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, and a deferred prosecution agreement with FCS whereby it agreed to pay a $100 million criminal penalty, the
statutory maximum.
Underlying the charge were allegations that FCS participated in a criminal antitrust conspiracy with a competing oncology group whereby the groups agreed not to compete to provide chemotherapy and radiation treatments to cancer patients. The allegations were that the conspiracy allocated chemotherapy treatments to FCS, and radiation treatments to a competing oncology group, such that FCS was illegally allowed to operate with minimal competition in Southwest Florida; thereby limiting valuable integrated care options and choices for cancer patients.
The deferred prosecution agreement includes FCS’s agreement not to enforce any non-compete provisions with its current or former oncologists or other employees who open or join an oncology practice in Southwest Florida. And, it requires FCS to cooperate fully with the government’s ongoing investigation.
As a likely result of that cooperation, the DOJ announced on September 24, 2020, the return of a grand jury indictment against FCS’s founder and former president, William Harwin, M.D., for his alleged participation in the antitrust conspiracy. It must be noted that an indictment is a set of allegations, not a conviction.
If proven guilty, Dr. Harwin could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and a
$1 million fine.
Entities might enter into an illegal arrangement and eventually suffer both the criminal
and civil prosecution consequences. But that's not the end of the story: Government investigations, prosecutions, and convictions can, and do, reach through to the
individuals involved.
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| | | Listen to the podcast here, or just keep reading for the transcript.
When I was a kid, I had a Gumby. (Did you have one, too?)
In common with other businesses, medical groups often assume that deals and decisions are like on–off switches, yea or nay, thumbs up or thumbs down.
The truth is that although many view the world that way, decisions and paths are far more flexible, more fluid, more customizable. They are infinitely adjustable, like Gumby.
That’s where the value is: in the nuances within the design of a deal or of a decision.
That’s how you must think. Not black or white, not yes or no, not right or left, but green, rubbery and bendable — like Gumby.
For example, many physician groups believe that they are faced with the decision to remain independent or to sell. Yet that’s a binary question: “on” or “off.”
The reality is that there’s a plethora of other choices. For example, to name but a very few: merge with another practice, hire to expand, acquire another practice outright, capture the referral sources or contracts that presently benefit another group, and so on.
And then, within each one of those routes there are multiple alternatives and multiple ways to structure the deal or effort.
Need a reminder? Go buy a Gumby and put it on your desk at work or at home. Every once in a while, pick it up and play with it. (You still remember how, right?)
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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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