Mgma Small Talk

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

Fresh from MGMA19 | The Operations Conference in Austin, Texas, Dave Gans spent time with Nate Moore, "the Pivot Table Guy," to explain the steps from getting access to raw practice management system data to finding a tool to put it to good use. Find more Executive Session podcasts and content on the MGMA Executive View page: https://www.mgma.com/executiveview/. Audio: "Data Center," Shoeg (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

With historically low unemployment, an aging workforce, and four generations of employees making up the workforce--Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z--it's created a new workforce employment culture. In this episode of the Insider Podcast, Shelly Waggoner, MS, CEBS, SHRM-SCP, Vice President of Human Resources, MGMA, is in studio to discuss generational trends, workforce employment and the new talent paradigm. Topics discussed include: * The unique state of workforce employment * The Aging workforce * Baby Boomers delaying retirement * Key differences (and some similarities) among the different generations * Strategies in which companies can play up to the strengths of each generation As a special note to MGMA members who may be looking for a new job, recruiting new talent to the workforce or looking for ways to develop better processes in their corporate culture, you can access more resources on this and many other topics on the Resources page on MGMA.com. In addition, Career Pathways is the mo

Editor’s note: Justin Chamblee can be heard speaking at MGMA19 | The Data Conference, May 16-18 in Orlando, Florida. As a special offer to our podcast listeners, through April 16, you can receive $200 off the regular registration price to The Data Conference by entering the code PODCAST at mgma.com/datacon In this MGMA Insider episode, Justin Chamblee, CPA, MBA, FACMPE, Senior Vice President and Director of Operations, Coker Group discusses Physician Compensation Planning for the New Age of Healthcare. Chamblee discusses: * Steps to take when building a physician compensation plan for your practice * The importance of change management in implementing a new compensation structure * The reasons why a structured compensation plan is imperative to future success

We’re seeing mergers and acquisitions, we’re seeing health systems get larger and acquire other systems, we know that hospitals have been acquiring physician practices. Gary Herschman, JD, member, Epstein Bekcer & Green P.C., sits down with Dave Gans to share what's been happening from his perspective on physician transactions in recent years and the unique ways that private equity is shaping the medical group practice space. Find more Executive Session podcasts and content on the MGMA Executive View page: www.mgma.com/executiveview/. Audio credit: "AcidJazz" by Kevin MacLeod (CC BY 3.0)

Editor’s note: All of today’s guests can be heard speaking at MGMA19 | The Data Conference, May 16-18 in Orlando, Florida. As a special offer to you, our podcast listeners can receive $200 off the regular registration price by entering the code PODCAST at mgma.com/datacon Healthcare’s business analytics market is projected to grow from $14 billion in 2019 to more than $50 billion by 2024. To help healthcare professionals better understand and utilize data in their practice, this episode of MGMA Insights is focused on providing information on how data can best be utilized in a medical practice. We also explain the importance of evidence-based thinking and discuss how to apply key metrics to a dataset. Experts and topics in this episode include: • Ashley Voss, Data Analyst II, MGMA, on data collection and analysis • Chris Addison, MBA, LSSGB, Student Health Services, on Lean principles and data-driven decisions • Lynda Barrie, Consultant, MGMA Consulting, on key metrics to use in datasets • Frank Cohen,

In this insider podcast, Bill Hambsh FACMPE CPA, CEO and Practicing Administrator at North Florida Women’s Care, talks about the increasing impact of text messaging as a way for medical practices to communicate with patients. According to Hambsh, when it comes to effectively closing care gaps, engaging patients, and increasing care plan adherence, text messaging has a proven record of success. Not only have studies shown that text messaging is the preferred and most convenient means and communication channel for patients, but integrating text-based communication systems with EHRs is a cost-effective approach to boosting health outcomes. Providers can leverage this integration to alleviate the EHR data silo and automate hyper-targeted, clinical messages with tangible effects on health. If you're interested in learning more on this topic, you can see Hambsh speak at MGMA19 | The Operations Conference on Tuesday, April 16, in Austin, Texas from 8am-9am. You can learn more about the conference and this session