By Editor, Concierge Medicine Today
I’ll be honest. When I got the emails that a membership medicine Physician I’ve known for several years was adding another Doctor to the practice, and another, and another … I inevitably knew the harvest this would yield.
Don’t get me wrong, growth for any Physician and the practice in a community is fantastic. I’m all about using your business skills to delegate your weakness to others and teach it often. I also think it’s wonderful that the practice is now adding more faces in more places and the wonderful bi-product of good business acumen helps Physician’s at-large find a career they enjoy, again.
That said, the loss of the ‘personal feel’ has also resulted in more infrequent text message encounters with the Physician directly and unfortunately, more frequent encounters with a few of the staff. Again, delegating what you don’t want to do or you’re not good at is in my opinion, good leadership. It helps you focus on what you are actually good at which is serving and helping Patients.
At the same time the lesson is this: The larger a practice becomes, the less playful and personal it becomes. The Physicians, the staff and the team culture as a whole change and you see them begin to ‘play it safe’ to protect the bottom line, the team and the business. In essence, the practice risks becoming impersonal and sterile.
If you don’t believe me, look at some of the most recent social media accounts for some of the medical offices or healthcare companies you’ve seen grow recently. You’ll probably find that the posts are in fact sterile, safe and boring.
While a membership medicine practice does provide great communication in my personal opinion compared to that of a more plan reimbursed, traditional practice — growth has its cautionary tales too. Growth indubitably can create impersonal barriers between Patient and Physician — and that’s just not what most people sign up for.
So, word to the wise, don’t lose your personal touch with Patients. After all, it’s no longer about being the best Doctor in the world anymore, it’s about being the best Doctor FOR the world, FOR your Patients and FOR your local community.
FOR YOU, FOR DOCTORS,
Editor, Concierge Medicine Today
