Healthcare Leadership Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Healthcare Leadership Podcast presented by ReferralMD - is your go-to resource for increasing practice efficiency and revenue. Each episode we share tips, tricks, trends, and real stories from physicians and healthcare executives so you can hear what really works to grow your practice.

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In this episode of the Healthcare Leadership Podcast, host Jennifer Thompson discusses the insights from the 2021 Consumer Experience Trends in Healthcare with Press Ganey’s Director of Channel Partnerships Matthew Davis, to determine the biggest shifts in patient habits that your practice needs to know – and how to improve their digital footprint accordingly.

Since 2019, Press Ganey has gathered patient surveys to produce an annual report of what is driving them to pick one provider over another. And the findings are clear: Without a positive, up-to-date, and lively online presence, healthcare practices are falling behind and losing patients to the competition.

Tune in to discover:

  • How the travel industry revolutionized consumer insights and data collection and the path for healthcare to follow suit
  • The methodology of the Press Ganey survey and its key findings
  • What percentage of patients refuse to see a provider with lower than a 4-star review average
  • How the pandemic and changes in telemedicine affected how consumers interact with online channels
  • Tips for healthcare providers to keep up with consumer expectations and improve access to information about their practice online

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Consumerism in healthcare is here to stay. One of the increasingly necessary methods for attracting patients who may be shopping around for a new provider is the incorporation of price transparency into the way your practice operates.

In this episode of the Healthcare Leadership Podcast, host Jennifer Thompson chats with Michael Havig M.D., orthopedic surgeon, managing partner at OrthoCollier, and founder of HealthMe, to discuss his expertise on transparent pricing and bundled healthcare. 

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Many practice managers and physicians have so much going on in their day-to-day operations, IT and cybersecurity often becomes an afterthought, despite the healthcare industry being a particularly common target for complex and aggressive cyberattacks. Cybersecurity insurance can help protect healthcare practices without requiring constant attention and high costs from the practices themselves. 

In this episode of the Healthcare Leadership Podcast, host Jennifer Thompson chats with Chris Burns, Managing Partner and Chief Experience Officer of Dedicated IT, an industry-leading managed service provider that understands the unique needs and threats that come with the healthcare IT landscape.

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How do you know if a private equity sale or partnership is right for your practice?

In this episode of the Healthcare Leadership Podcast, host Jennifer Thompson sits down with Justin Hand, founder and managing director of Westcove Partners, a healthcare-focused investment bank based in California, to answer common questions about private equity and discuss the interests of independent practices considering the jump into a private equity partnership.

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Ever wondered how to raise your practice profile and build your brand through PR and media? In this week’s episode of the Healthcare Leadership Podcast, host Jennifer Thompson sits down with former reporter, news anchor, and long-time public relations professional Keith Landry to discuss how doctors and medical practices can leverage their expertise and take advantage of PR opportunities.

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Recruiting and retaining the right talent at a medical practice has become a much greater challenge in recent years, especially due to the disruption of COVID-19 and the era of what has been called “The Great Resignation.”

How can healthcare leaders identify and onboard the employees who will fit in well with their teams, be passionate about the work, and commit to the practice for the long haul?

In this episode, host Jennifer Thompson discusses tools and tips related to taking care of employees with consultant and coach, Sondra Hoffman. With her 30 years of experience in both large and mid-size, private and private equity-backed practices, Sondra helps healthcare leaders develop strong collaborative teams to enhance the patient experience. 

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When it comes to expanding your personal practice or finding opportunities to further populate your financial portfolio, the value of real estate is a no-brainer when you begin to look at the data.

In this episode, host Jennifer Thompson chats with healthcare real estate expert Trisha Talbot to answer questions about the various benefits of real estate for a medical provider, how to successfully own and operate buildings and facilities, and what options are out there for investment given today’s market.

Tune into the episode to learn:

  • What healthcare providers may find challenging about owning a facility and practicing medicine at the same time
  • How hiring a property manager could help with management tasks and processes
  • The current trends in site selection for private healthcare practices
  • How to use healthcare real estate as both a financial and a strategic tool

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Pain. Something that most, if not all of us, have experienced. That being said, the topic of pain is broad. In this episode, host Jennifer Thompson chats with  Dr. Michael Hooten, MD, and Dr. Kayode Williams M.D.  Both serve on the American Academy of Pain Medicine. They discuss pain and pay and how payors have thought about pain in the past, and what they see as the future of pain and value-based care. 

Tune in to discover:

  • How payors have thought about pain in the past and how they should think about it today.
  • What are the biggest challenges pain specialists face in regards to payors?
  • Value-based care - definition and the importance of it in today’s healthcare world.
  • American Academy of Pain Medicine - what is AAPM and how does the organization advance the pain subspecialty.
  • Suggestions on educating payors and implementing change
  • What advice do you have for other practices experiencing similar shifts throughout the nation?
  • For young residents coming out of school, what’s the importance of joining an association like AAPM? What kind of support or tools or doors can be opened?

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Consolidation, as well as COVID, has been one of the biggest disrupters in healthcare for private practices. Private/Independent practices have to find a way to get bigger or find a niche in order to grow their practice. The consolidation affects the flow of patient referrals a private practice needs to stay in business.

In this episode, host Jennifer Thompson chats with Dr. Charles Thompson, a practicing independent physician with Vascular Specialist of Central Florida about the state of being a private, independent practice and the challenges they face in today’s healthcare environment.

Tune in to discover:

  • Tell us a bit about your history as a practice and why you've decided to remain independent.
  • Being independent allows you to remain nimble, but what are some of the other benefits you've seen for you as providers and for your patients?
  • What changes have you noticed in terms of your referral patterns? When did you notice these?
  • How have you adapted to these shifts in your referrals?
  • What's the solution here? What have you seen that really has worked or not worked in terms of retaining or generating new referrals?
  • What advice do you have for other practices experiencing similar shifts throughout the nation?
  • What are some of the other key challenges you face as the last large private vascular group in your region?
  • Why do you remain private? What are the benefits here for you?
  • If you could offer one piece of advice or one takeaway for listeners, what would it be?

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We all know how important it is for any healthcare practice to effectively measure results and target key areas for revenue growth.  So, what are some easy ways to improve clinic flow, increase sales, and create a sustainable model for growth?

In this episode, hosts John Ellis and Jennifer Thompson chat with Christine Lapointe, an international medical practice revenue consultant, public speaker, customer experience trainer, and published author.  Listen as they share how to improve clinic flow and increase sales on premium service offerings while identifying key areas for growth. 

Tune in to discover:

  • How to deliver the right information at the right time to the right patient in the patient journey
  • Why patient flow, scripting, and a plan for practice staff are important
  • Our best hope for decreasing the cost of healthcare
  • Ways to get around the challenge of practices saying they have no room in the schedule to see more patients or add additional services
  • Tips to measure the effectiveness of proper training
  • How COVID has impacted employee training and engagement efforts and what to do about it

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In any given day there’s only so much time, energy, and capital, right?

So, as a healthcare leader at your practice, how can you make the most of your available resources to improve workflow and get more done?

In this episode, hosts John Ellis and Jennifer Thompson chat with Corey Gehrold of Insight Marketing Group, a healthcare-centric marketing company, to uncover the top 5 productivity tools he recommends for medical practice leadership clients.

Tune in to Discover:

  • 5 of the best digital productivity tools for medical practices
  • Tips to be more efficient and effective when pivoting to different projects every few minutes
  • Small strategy and mindset adjustments that add up to big differences in your day-to-day
  • Why improving your available tools will pay off in the short-term and the distant future

Resources and References:

  • Tools Highlighted:
    • Asana
    • Slack
    • Loom
    • LastPass
    • Zapier
  • Honorable Mentions & Alternatives:
    • Microsoft Teams
    • Trello
    • Clockify
    • 1password
    • Clickup

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Even before COVID, Dr. Michael Greiwe, knew that telemedicine technology would help his orthopedic practice, OrthoCincy, grow as well as increase his patient’s satisfaction and engagement. So he developed the OrthoLive telemedicine platform because there was nothing that met his needs as an orthopedic provider.

In this episode, hosts John Ellis and Jennifer Thompson chat with Dr. Greiwe, Founder of Ortholive,  that provides convenient, secure access to care while increasing efficiency, revenue, and user satisfaction without a steep or unnecessary learning curve. Listen as we discuss how telemedicine has affected the healthcare industry, the challenges and the opportunities and what it may look like a few years from now.

Tune in to discover:

  • The process and the challenges of implementing telemedicine
  • The evolution and role of improved technology
  • What happens to telemedicine post-COVID?
  • Is there data that correlates to increased revenue for practices?
  • Is telemedicine a sustainable model where healthcare clinics use telemedicine to fill empty appointment slots?
  • The accessibility of telemedicine for rural communities and healthcare practices

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Consolidation is a normal part of any industry, but how is the current trend of consolidation in healthcare (be it from private equity or hospital buyouts), affecting physicians and patients?

In this episode, hosts John Ellis and Jennifer Thompson chat with Marni Jameson Carey, Executive Director of the Association of Independent Doctors. Listen as we share how the consolidation of independent practices may hurt health care by driving up costs, harming patients, and burning out doctors. We also discuss what trends are afoot that could help slow or reverse the consolidation of independent practices and how price transparency is key to attracting and retaining the patients of tomorrow. 

Tune in to discover:

  • What are the main drivers behind this consolidation? Why should we be concerned?
  • What is the role of Private Equity? Private equity continues to invest in healthcare, is there a cost?
  • What’s our best hope for decreasing the cost of healthcare?
  • Marni will discuss her view on healthcare price transparency and why her effort is such an essential part of the solution?
  • If independent doctors are such a bargain compared to employed physicians, why don’t more post their prices?
  • What legislation should we be watching, and how can we help?