Running a profitable medical practice takes more than your staff’s strong clinical skills. Today’s practice of medicine is complex; declining reimbursement per patient or procedure, complexity in managing the patient process, technology needs, decision-making processes to ensure optimal use of resources, outcomes management…and don’t forget the nuances of employee management. This exciting book promises a new way for physicians and administrators to look at the medical practice.

Think Business! Medical Practice Quality, Efficiency, Profits decodes business theories and applies them to today’s medical practice. The book will take you far beyond marketing, human resources, finances and patient-orientated services. This book will revolutionize how you think about your medical practice.

It is time to bring solid business principles to the medical practice. So, if you didn’t get to business school, don’t worry. Author Owen Dahl unravels the mysteries behind the management theories of gurus like Drucker, Porter, Senge, Collins, Maslow, Deming and Kotter – and then provides detail as a playbook for today’s medical practice. And if you do have your MBA, these practical applications for medicine will reinforce what you already know.

Filled with winning techniques, in Think Business! Medical Practice Quality, Efficiency, Profits you will learn about:

• Financial fundamentals – how to keep tabs on the practice
• Employees as assets: How to recruit and retain them
• How to differentiate your practice from your competition
• Setting the stage for pay-for-performance and quality of care
• Why individual physicians – and their executive staff should care about satisfied patients and quality outcomes
• How to motivate employees to build great teams; it’s not only about money!
• Smart strategies to focus your practice as a business

Packed with plenty of take-home value, you can count on Dahl to provide you with the language, the players, and the management techniques to ensure success in your practice. His energy and sense of purpose translates into winning techniques and illustrative case studies. Refer to Think Business! Medical Practice Quality, Efficiency, Profits often for specific strategies you can implement in your practice today. Improve your bottom line, comply with pay for performance and increase patient satisfaction in your practice.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by David B. Nash, M.D., M.B.A., FACP
  
  
• Introduction
  
  1. Are you a Business? History, are you a business, business life cycle, business organization, business real purpose
  
  2. Planning Strategic plan, vision and mission, values and value statements, strategies, SWOT, objectives, environment
  
  3. Quality of Care Measurement, relationship management, defects and waste, quality management
  
  4. Human Resources Employee as an asset and knowledge worker, retention, team, generations, management and leadership
  
  5. Process, Systems and Efficiency Systems, flow chart, benchmarks, measurement
  
  6. Marketing Strategy, patient decision process, services, relationships, research and statistics, patient satisfaction, marketing plan, get active, give back
  
  7. Financial Management Statements, external activity and sources of funds, metrics
  
  8. Compliance Risk management, quality assurance, compliance plan, evidence based, incident report, and accreditation
  
  9. Knowledge Management and Decision-Making Data, information, knowledge, and wisdom continuum, management information systems, decision-making, knowledge management
  
  10. Change Management Why and what of change, resistance to change, is your organization ready for change, change manager or leader, group/team, solutions, unfreeze, change, refreeze
  
  11. Case Studies Operational, strategic and “the big change”
  
  12. The Future of Your Business Future scenarios, the glass is half empty, information and food for thought, the glass is half full, ideal practice
  
  
• Index

Think Business! Medical Practice Quality, Efficiency, Profits is an easy-to-read mini-MBA curriculum. It provides administrators and doctors with a repository for all of the current business school information necessary to compete in the 21st century.

About the Author

Owen J. Dahl, MBA, FACHE, CHBC, is a nationally-known speaker and independent MGMA consultant with nearly 40 years in medical practice management, from entrepreneur, to academician developing teaching programs and credentialing programs. — to manager of a $75 million practice with 65 physicians, to academician developing certification programs for major medical societies. He is also a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. In addition to his Think Business! Medical Practice Quality, Efficiency, Profits his latest book is Lean Six Sigma for the Medical Practice, with co-author, Frank Cohen, and the author of, The Medical Practice Disaster Planning Workbook.

Reviews:

"It is time to bring solid business principles to the medical practice. Think Business! Medical Practice Quality, Efficiency, Profits is packed with plenty of take-home value -- and you can count on Owen Dahl to provide you with the language, the players, and the management techniques to ensure success in your practice. His energy and sense of purpose translates into winning techniques you can implement in your practice improve your bottom line, comply with pay for performance and increase the patient satisfaction in your practice."

David Nash, MD, MBA, Professor & Chairman, Dept. of Health Policy, Jefferson Medical College

“Owen J. Dahl offers a vision and provides excellent planning ideas for physicians and administrators who want to improve all of the operations in the medical practice. This book is a must-read.”

Susan Genrich, CMM, Certified Medical Manager

“Most of us received medical training that provides us with the skills to diagnose and treat medical conditions. However, only a few of us received the necessary skills to become effective and successful businessmen and business women….All those who read this book will become not only better businessman and business women but ultimately better physicians.”

Neil Baum, MD - Clinical Associate Professor of Urology, Tulane Medical School and author of Marketing Your Clinical Practice Ethically, Effectively, Economically

“Owen Dahl helps you understand the complexities of the business of medicine so you can better manage your practice. It will make you a more sophisticated leader. The quality of your patient care will go up.”

Richard C. Haines, Jr., President, Medical Design International

Owen has done a remarkable job of engaging the reader with a blend of theory and practicality that offers a solid business approach to achieving a high performing practice. This book is a 'must read' for physicians and medical practice leaders that seek to be among the best."

Judy Capko, Capko & Company and author of Secrets of the Best-Run Practices