Episode 131: Clinical Conversations: OMA Practice Management Algorithm

So

the practice management algorithm is really designed to help clinicians at different stages, whether they're just starting or whether they're established.

So what do you see as some effective strategies for clinicians to use this resource to enhance their experience based on where they're at?

I mean, the first avatar that we were writing this for, because when I write, I try to think of who am I writing this for, right? Was someone who's sitting in their clinic, who got boarded, who says, I want to do this thing, but I don't know how, right? They're sitting in an internal medicine practice or an endocrinology practice or an OBGYN practice saying, I want to do it.

how do I start? What's the first step? And so that was kind of the first avatar because I feel like that's a lot of who's reached out to me over the years saying, I just, I need the first step.

But then it also very quickly, just listening to all of the other subject matter experts talking about it, there's a lot of people who are being tasked by their health system or by their department to build an obesity medicine service line within an existing structure.

And that to me is hugely valuable.

And those people have a very different task

and

they have different needs, but we, we needed to address those as well.

And I didn't need to be two separate documents.

So those are probably our two biggest avatars.

But there's certainly people that have know started a little solopreneurship you know lifestyle practice where they just see patients and that's fine but they're thinking wow this is full I need another clinician I've hit my ceiling of what I can do on my own how do I take this to the next level and so I think we're really trying to write for all those different people who are looking for growth who are looking for pathways to move beyond where they are now.

So those are probably our three avatars.

And that speaks to why you don't necessarily need to read a cover to cover, right? You can focus on those sections that are relevant to you at your point of practice care.

And those are very different.

When you work in a large health system and you want to go out on your own, It's very different, right? There's a lot of things that you have to learn about just, you know, whether it be office, starting an office, managing an office, whatever things, credentialing, all the things that you suddenly are responsible for yourself, all the employment regulations.

And it's nice that the document goes through so many different aspects of running a medical practice.

Yeah.

And that part of me also thought, you know, if you're building in a health system, you should still know some of this language because the people you're dealing with in the administration side are speaking this language of credentialing and you know, marketing and KPIs and things.

And even if you're being tasked as a leader in a clinical sense, whether or not that new service line fails or succeeds will have to do with some of these things that you may not have control over, but I think you should know that they exist.

Right, and understand how they influence the decision-making process.

Exactly, right?

Right, you know, and it reminds me of Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, seek to understand and be understood.

And the better you understand where administration is coming from, the better you can address their concerns.