For clinicians and clinicians-to-be
It was a dark and stormy night—really!
After working with one too many organizations unwilling to align incentives with their primes, I wrote the following piece out of frustration and sadness.
My editor told me it was too “dark” to publish, but the message is vital, burnout too common and patient dissatisfaction too high not to share.
Here goes:
If you’re an employed clinician and your organization does not directly share the revenue from its risk-based contracts with you, then your organization views you as a cog. A widget. A tool.
I used to say fight for change from within, but like black bears on garbage, most of these organizations are too dependent on this “free” revenue to change.
Individual initiative to pursue change from within will have a very low return on your effort. And if pursued too vigorously, you may even be placed on a “Performance Improvement Plan”—a “mark” on your record you’ll have to report anytime you wish to change practice, get a new license, enroll in a new provider contract.
Better to cut your losses and begin again with an organization that “gets it.”
Or better yet, start your own micro-practice. Medicare Advantage Organizations are very willing to hand out contracts to individual providers. They’re seeking to diversify their provider base away from the overly large organizations they’re forced to contract with (Call me if you want help going over that contract).
Collect a panel of 300 or so patients, add another couple of hundred on a concierge payment plan and you’ll make more money with less hassle—and enjoy practicing medicine again.
The organizations that don’t collaborate with you financially don’t want your ideas or inspirations, your partnership or your engagement with patients.
They want your license so they can legally submit the data they need to get paid.
Lack of collaboration with primes is the surest sign of a toxic, one-sided healthcare delivery organization—one that sees you as a cog in their machine, not as a human being
I’m telling you this clinician-to-clinician with nothing to gain and much to lose from potential clients.
If your organization does not have some sort of direct financial gain share with their Medicare Advantage program— Get. Out. Now.
You’ll regret it if you don’t.
Badly.
Need unbiased guidance finding your ideal medical practice, contact me, no obligation just help and value.