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This is Part 2 of our exclusive interview with Scott Cochran discussing leadership and football.

This is Part 1 of our exclusive interview with Scott Cochran discussing leadership and football.

Our offices probably never will be the same after COVID-19 and in truth, our practices shouldn’t be the same. In fact, our offices should have been better designed all along instead of being left as they were because that was just how it was done. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a wave of change upon us. Let’s make sure the change is meaningful and important. Let’s use it to ensure that health care practitioners have a say in the practice of medicine instead of having to do it because someone else said so.

The disaster that is the COVID-19 pandemic will leave large numbers of chronically ill patients requiring treatment for lung scarring, neurologic conditions, and more for many years to come. A system already failing many and under-delivering to most will be further taxed. The present crisis is exposing some of the many deficiencies in our system and revealing the need for a sweeping transformation of health care delivery. For years, technology has been pushed into medicine. Often these software systems and devices were created by individuals with little or no clinical experience and then touted as THE SOLUTION. In other cases, physicians created their own systems, which often more closely address the problems in medical practice, but usually do not leverage the technology to its fullest.  We need medical technology solutions—not just packages and devices. So far, most electronic health records (EHRs) have created more burdens than they have relieved. Office software systems can stoke burnout. Most telehealth systems are little more than secure video chat systems tied to burdensome documentation system. To provide good care, providers need more. Physicians need help. Patients deserve better.

Solving the problems in these rural areas is critical. And, there may be a silver lining. Solving the problems of medical care in these areas would create the model for addressing them in other areas, including those that are less disadvantaged. Rural medical solutions can be transferred up to urban and tertiary care centers. Solutions developed in cities and tertiary care centers, unfortunately, are less like to be applicable in underserved rural communities. We must bridge the gap between medicine and technology in a way that allows physicians to care for patients. Enjoy the podcast.

Got an issue that needs to be dealt with in the office? Everyone does—that’s why we created SBGM. Great leadership requires effective management and active listening. It also takes a thoughtful approach to how problems are addressed. Are you going to sit down with all concerned parties and work through to a consensus? Or will you go to the opposite end of the spectrum and simply “lay down the law” without any input from others? Consensus-maker sounds so much more appealing. Dictator sounds ruthless. In real-world medicine, the truth is there is room for a bit of both.

It is easy to complain about your situation. Anybody can be a whiner. It takes no particular skill to complain. Yet, it can still have widespread effects. A whiner placed even at the lowest level of a practice can poison the well. If a whiner is in a management position, the damage can be extensive. Don’t be a whiner yourself and don’t allow a whiner in any leadership or management position.

Business, family, and social activities all rely on relationships. We all have strained relationships. In some cases, they may even seem irretrievably broken. Relationship problems can devastate the home. The toll is no less heavy when there are problems between coworkers or colleagues. Just as in our personal lives, improving our relationships can yield marked and, in some cases, unforeseen improvement in the workplace. Even better, improving a relationship in one arena can translate into benefits across the board.

A great physician must be a great listener. Similarly, it is very important for a great leader to be a great listener. In fact, it’s pretty important for everyone to be a good listener. We should all listen to our coworkers, partners, employees, our patients, and our bosses. There are many important lessons to be learned. Don’t assume that you have all the answers. Listen as though the other person has the answers, even if you’re not sure they do. Even the wrong answers can help you better understand the person, give you a new idea, or help you understand why things aren’t working the way you thought they should.  We hope you enjoy the podcast.

For years numerous books and articles were written about the art of management, but over the past few years, the pendulum has swung toward a plea for leaders rather than managers. As a layer upon layer of management has been applied to the practice of medicine, it has become clear that managers have not created the smoothly running systems that we desperately need. What we need are leaders who know how to manage.

Patient engagement is the hot topic lately. Caring about an individual person who is your patient helps create meaningful engagement. It is also important that they know that you care about them. Having all the scientific answers does not make for a good relationship or for meaningful engagement. Obviously, having the medical answers is a vital building block. Understanding a person’s emotional state and having the ability to communicate any information in a way that resonates with that person arises from emotional intelligence. Therefore, to optimize our ability to treat patients, we must maximize our emotional intelligence.

Knowledge is power. We must educate the patient and any caregivers. Effective education is not a couple of pages downloaded from a website or a stock handout from your electronic health record (EHR) system. If it were only that simple. Patients often come away from a new diagnosis of diabetes with some handouts on diet and exercise or receive a folder full of paper after a major surgery. Education is a cornerstone of patient engagement. When done well, education guides the patient toward appropriate communication with the physician and staff. Spending time educating patients provides billing opportunities and leads to better outcomes, fewer call-backs, and happier patients.

Patient engagement has been a catchphrase for several years now. Much like humpty dumpty after falling off the wall or the elephant being “viewed” by the 6 blind men, patient engagement has been split into many separate ideas— each given different priorities and emphasis by different stakeholders and organizations. If, instead, we could gather the pieces together and return to the whole egg or true elephant in the room, we’d find that engaging our patients can solve numerous problems simultaneously. Effective patient and caregiver engagement can avert medical, social, and legal problems before they arise.

Password-sharing seems like the path of least resistance to get a job done in a busy medical office. Sharing passwords with other people can easily lead to multiple systems being compromised and misuse of account information.  Learn how to establish a password policy for your office. 

Neither physicians nor practices want to believe that embezzlement can happen to them. Yet, embezzlement has happened, can happen, and will continue to happen. We want and need to believe in our team members, and indeed, we have to believe in one another for any team to be effective. At Smart Business Great Medicine, our motto is Trust, and Verify! This means having policies to verify that trust is well placed and reviewing possible signs that trust has been broken regularly. Knowing the red flags will make fraud, theft, and embezzlement less likely for you. 

The process of physician recruitment is laborious and can be time-consuming. Always keep in mind that you are not just trying to replace a cog in the machine. You may well spend more waking hours with this person than you do with your family. Don’t take it lightly. A bad choice can yield months, if not years, of misery and regret. A good choice improves the practice, improves the business, and can limit your risk of burnout.

Employees with bad attitudes can have a significant impact on all your employees and your practice. Learn the best ways to deal with them.

Smart Business Great Medicine shares knowledge to help Physicians and Practice Managers overcome challenges and transform their medical practices. Our team consists of highly experienced industry experts who have been involved in all aspects of growing, managing, and leading successful medical practices.