Physicians Practice - September 2008 - (Page 16) P eARLS SHARE THE JOY BY ROBERT L AMBERTS, MD PHYSICIANS ADVISORY BOARD David Albenberg, MD Scott Meyer, MD Access Healthcare, Prairie Glen Family Medicine, Charleston, SC Glenview, IL Michael F. Bonazzola, MD Oregon Health & Science University Medical Group, Portland, OR Juliet Breeze, MD Richmond Bone and Joint Clinic P Richmond, TX .A., Robert C. Goldszer, MD, MBA Mount Sinai Medical Center Miami Beach, FL BUSINESS ADVISORY BOARD Rebecca A.H. Anwar, PhD The Sage Group, Philadelphia, PA John Barrasso, MD Wyoming Medical Center, Casper, WY V. Alin Botoman, MD Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale, FL Barry Brennan Miami Children’s Hospital, Miami, FL Greg Bruce UMC Health System, Lubbock, TX Patrick Cawley, MD Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC Lee M. Duke II, MD Lancaster General Lancaster, PA Wanda English Shands at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL Richard Gangemi, MD Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY Hewitt Goodpasture, MD Via Christi Regional Medical Center, Wichita, KS Diane Haines Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR Darren R. Haskell, MD St. Luke’s Hospital, Chesterfield, MO Larry Hopperstead, MD Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston, ME Allen B. Hornell, MD ETMC Regional Healthcare System,Tyler, TX Timothy Huffcutt Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Marshfield, WI Peter J. Jacoby, MD, FACEP St. Mary’s Hospital, Waterbury, CT Cynthia Johnson Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC Jean Kostelansky Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Michael Kryda, MD Ministry Healthcare, Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Milwaukee, WI Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD American Cancer Society, Atlanta, GA Jim Lindsey, MD SETON Family of Hospitals Austin, TX John Mackel, MD Saint Francis Medical Center, Cape Girardeau, MO Phillip J. Manno, M.D., F .A.C.P . Nevada Cancer Institute, Las Vegas, NV Lorraine L. Manzella SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY Hagop Mekhjian, MD OSU Medical Center, Columbus, OH Daniel M. Navin, MD Munson Healthcare, Traverse City, MI Harold Pillsbury, III, MD UNC Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC Thomas Pow, MD Lakeland Regional Health System, St. Josephs, MI Brian Reardon St. John’s Hospital Springfield, IL Kevin Ruggles, MD Rockford Health System Rockford, IL Ronald W. Swinfard, MD Lehigh Valley Hospital, Bethlehem, PA R. Stephen Taylor, MD Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta, GA Donald Thomas, MD Kingman Regional Medical Center Kingman, AZ Jerome Thompson, MD UT Medical Group, Memphis, TN J. Stephen Wikle, MD, MPH Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, CA Michael Wong, MD Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY Sally Wright, MD Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, WA John M. Zerwas, MD Memorial Hermann, Houston, TX Nathan J. Zuckerman, MD Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, Willingboro, NJ Lucien W. Roberts III, MHA, FACMPE Cognos LLC Glen Allen, VA William Smits, MD The Allergy & Asthma Center, Fort Wayne, IN Successful delegation depends on finding partners who complement each other. Where one is weak, the other excels, and vice versa. This precludes the practice suffering from an individual’s weaknesses while simultaneously benefiting from each partner’s strengths. Case in point: I was once the sole owner of my practice. We had three physicians and two midlevel providers, but I was in charge of running the whole show. So it was my decision back in 1996 that caused us to become one of the first practices to adopt electronic medical records. With evangelical zeal, I firmly believed that the future of medicine was electronic, and so I pushed for computerizing the office wherever possible. I even became president of our EMR’s user group and subsequently I have risen to some fame — at least within EMR circles. Such hyperfocusing is an asset for projects like EMR. But it’s less good for running a practice. Indeed, I felt chronically frustrated with our lack of financial progress. But everything turned around when two of my employed physicians became partners two years ago. We divided our work based on our skills: I am the CEO (motivated leader and dreamer) and CIO (computer geek). Mike became the CMO (develops clinical guidelines for the practice and works with the nursing staff). Chris, the CFO/COO, runs the office’s day-to-day activities. Our practice grew rapidly and our finances improved, and today our income is now far above the national mean for primary care. And, our technology and our clinical quality are nationally recognized. Here are some points to consider when delegating roles and responsibilities: 16 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | SEPTEMBER 2008 • Someone in the practice must have a leader’s vision. This person must not only believe in “something bigger,” but also be able to motivate others to embrace the dream. • Offset these dreamers with practical nuts-and-bolts people who can run the practice’s daily activities. Liken this to having an accelerator and brakes in a car. Obviously, you need both to avoid the equally undesirable prospects of crashing and going nowhere. • Those who don’t want to run the business can still find a useful place in a practice. A CMO can do much to bring in new physicians, deal with clinical issues, and help set guidelines. If a new immunization comes out, for example, you can trust your CMO will be ready with the clinical data, while the CFO handles the financial side. Both are critical. • Employ good politics. Make sure you have someone on board to act as a trustworthy mediator. One of my personal strengths is that I am able to overlook the weaknesses of others if I see strengths — a real asset for keeping peace. The process of delegation is ongoing. Crises will come and go — as in any business, marriage, family — but with proper delegation you’ll work from a position of maximum strength that will move the practice forward. And although it can be initially hard to let go of some power, in the end, things will be far better for your staff, your patients, and you. • Robert Lamberts, MD, is a primary-care physician with Evans Medical Group, in Evans, Georgia. Dr. Lamberts serves on multiple committees at several national organizations for the promotion of computerized health records, for which he is a recognized national speaker. He can be reached at rlamberts@evansmedicalgroup.com or via editor@physicianspractice.com. WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM
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