What’s the best practice management advice you’ve ever received? From staff to money and patients, members of the 2015 YO Committee and subcommittees share the most memorable practice pearls they’ve learned. Share your own in the comments!
Staffing
“Sometimes the best advice you get is not direct advice, but advice that you observe. I was fortunate to have several wonderful mentors during my ophthalmology training. I observed the positive impact a strong physician–staff relationship can have on patient care. My best mentors treated each staff member as a vital part of the team and maintained a demeanor of respect at all times. These mentors empowered and encouraged their entire eye care team to be contributors to each patient's care. So make an effort to get to know your staff, your team — creating this strong foundation of support helps you grow exponentially. I strive to implement this advice into my everyday practice and have seen my patients benefit from the positive environment.”
–Purnima S. Patel, MD, YO Committee Chair
“In regards to hiring staff, it is critical to surround yourself with energetic, positive people. It will reflect on you as a physician and set the mood for patient visits. Before you even introduce yourself to a patient, they will have an impression about your practice that can take precious moments to overcome in a busy clinic. These impressions will influence whether or not a patient will return or give positive recommendations to potential future patients. Because excellent clinical care is of course expected by your patients, this is relatively low-hanging fruit that will significantly improve patient satisfaction.”
–Joseph T. Nezgoda, MD, MBA, YO Advocacy Subcommittee
Purchasing a Practice
“I’m a solo practitioner in the Washington, D.C. metro area and bought my practice from a retiring physician in 2007 after completing fellowship training. This was a challenging process in the beginning, especially when negotiating the details of the buy-out, but has resulted in a very healthy, growing practice that allows me a wide range of freedom. My advice to young ophthalmologists considering this practice option is to negotiate the purchase price upfront. Working for a couple years with a partner and then negotiating the purchase price is likely a top reason these relationships often end in divorce, usually to the detriment of the buyer. After the price is agreed upon, write into the contract the exact dates the seller will stop operating, the days per week they’re expected to work and when they will completely retire (if that’s the plan). These are difficult terms to discuss and establish, but without clear expectations, discord will develop.”
–Natasha L. Herz, MD, YO Info Editorial Board Chair
Marketing
The best way to market yourself is to be an active participant in your community. Depending on the day, this may mean going to the local society meeting, listening to a local charity group, participating in a health fair or authoring a health column for a local magazine. Though these things may take up our time without directly advancing our bottom line, the most successful physicians I see are the ones that capitalize on these types of opportunities. I am a firm believer that human and humane networking is fundamental to building ties to your community and in turn your brand.
–James G. Chelnis, MD, YO Info Editorial Board
Finances
“Live like a trainee for your first years out of practice. Reducing your financial pressures early on will help you cultivate your passion and interests and ultimately help shape your career. Start saving and planning for retirement, as we are often five years behind our nonmedical peers in this regard. Understand investment strategies, and realize that new physicians are often targets for investment advisors. Find advisors with strong references and build a long-term relationship so you have one less thing to worry about. Last but not least, consider outsourcing things such as house cleaning so you can enjoy the limited free time with your friends and family. No one can do it all!”
–Roma Patel, MD, MBA, YO Committee
“Don’t buy a home right away. Rent until you are confident in your location and practice choice. Also, your salary is very different from what you will have to actually spend after taxes, loan payments, etc. Waiting allows you to clearly understand how much you have coming in and how much you actually want to spend on a home.”
–Jeff H. Pettey, MD, YO Committee
Advocacy
“Make advocacy a line item in your budget. Without advocacy, there may not be a practice to practice in! This means intentionally budgeting for monetary contributions to your state society, OPHTHPAC and the Surgical Scope Fund. This way, you can continue to stay busy caring for patients while your contributions are hard at work at the state and national level, protecting the safety of your patients and the future of your practice and profession.”
–Janice C. Law, MD, YO Committee
Patient Care
“My practice sends welcome cards to all new patients. The physician personally signs each card and places a business card inside. We have had excellent feedback from our patients with this communication.”
–Byron N. Wilkes, MD, YO Advocacy Subcommittee
“Take good care of your patients. Jeff Heier gave me this advice, which is simple but very true. Chirag Shah also advised me that taking good care of your patients includes communicating effectively with referring doctors and calling them directly when necessary.”
Editor’s note: Dr. Heier is the Academy’s former secretary for online education/e-learning. Dr. Shah is the deputy editor-in-chief of the Ophthalmic News and Education (ONE®) Network.
–Michael Tibbetts, MD, YO International Subcommittee
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About the authors:
Purnima S. Patel, MD, has been in practice at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and the Emory Eye Center in Atlanta since 2010. She specializes in medical retina, uveitis, cataract surgery and resident education. Dr. Patel has served on the YO Committee since 2011, currently serving as chair.
Joseph T. Nezgoda, MD, MBA, is completing his final months in a vitreoretinal fellowship at the Shiley Eye Center at the University of California-San Diego. He is a member of the YO advocacy subcommittee and Academy representative to the resident and fellow section of the American Medical Association.
Natasha Herz, MD, is a cataract, corneal and refractive surgeon who works as a solo practitioner at Kensington Eye Center in Washington, D.C. She completed her residency and fellowship at the Cullen Eye Institute at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Local peers selected her to appear in Washingtonian magazine’s Top Doctors of 2014. She also is the vice president-elect of her local medical society and chair of the YO Info editorial board.
James G. Chelnis, MD, is currently the oculoplastics fellow at Vanderbilt University and in his first year of the Tennessee American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery program. He has been a member of the YO Info editorial board for over three years and is also engaged in EyeWiki.org as an editor for the oculoplastics section. Dr. Chelnis is a contributor to the ASOPRS Oncology Database and has a strong interest in clinical and translational research.
Roma Patel, MD, MBA, is currently a clinical glaucoma fellow at Duke University. After completing an MD/MBA dual-degree program at Baylor College of Medicine, she completed her ophthalmology residency at the University of California-Davis as on ophthalmology resident. She is interested in innovative surgical methods and researching cost-effective health care delivery.
Jeff H. Pettey, MD, is a member of the Academy’s YO Committee and Committee for Resident Education. He is the residency program director at the Moran Eye Center and an assistant professor at the University of Utah. Dr. Pettey also is the chief of ophthalmology at the Salt Lake City VA Hospital.
Janice C. Law, MD, is an assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute in Nashville. She received her training at the Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit, where she also served as chief resident. After a two-year medical and surgical retina fellowship at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Dr. Law joined the retina faculty as assistant professor in vitreoretinal diseases and surgery. She is also the associate program director for residency education in ophthalmology and plays a very active role in developing curricula and assessing teaching and learning within ophthalmic education. She is a member in the Academy’s Leadership Development Program, class of 2015.
Byron N. Wilkes, MD, is in private practice in Little Rock, Ark., practicing ophthalmic plastic surgery. He is a member of the YO advocacy subcommittee and recent participant in the Advocacy Ambassador Program.
Michael D. Tibbetts, MD, is in his first year of medical retina practice in Cape Coral and Fort Myers, Fla. After graduating from Harvard Medical School, he completed residency at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and a fellowship at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He is a member of the YO international subcommittee