Excellence with an Edge: Practicing Medicine in a Competitive Environment - Softcover

Michael T. Harris

9780984079490: Excellence with an Edge: Practicing Medicine in a Competitive Environment

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0984079491 ISBN 13: 9780984079490

Publisher: Fire Starter Publishing, 2010

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You Take Excellent Care of Your Patients. But How Well Are You Caring For Your Practice?

Once upon a time physicians went to work, cared for their patients, and went home. In the process they made a decent living. They didn't worry so much about how they got paid - they simply practiced good medicine and accepted that the money would come.

Those days are long gone.

21st century doctors work in a field that seems to grow more complicated every day. At the same time, the competition gets fiercer and fiercer. The implication is clear: yes, you must consistently provide the highest quality care and great service - they're the tickets to entry in this profession - but in order to do that you must also be able to run a great business.

That's what Excellence With An Edge is all about. Dr. Michael T. Harris, Vice Chairman of Surgery at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, has written an insightful book that provides physicians with practical tools and techniques for running a financially sound practice. (And no, you probably didn't learn them in medical school!)

Read it and you'll learn how to:
Use proven techniques to build a strong, successful practice by growing reputation, volume and market share
Differentiate your practice from the competition
Earn the loyalty of patients, staff and referring physicians
Make rational decisions regarding new projects, recruits and capital equipment
Avoid devastating mistakes that can quickly destroy your practice
Consistently create the kinds of patient experiences that lead to return business, referrals and positive word of mouth
Maximize your take-home pay

Whether you own a two-or-three-person practice or you're a first-year physician in an 800-member faculty practice, you need a solid grasp of the business side of making a living in healthcare, asserts Dr. Harris. It's no longer optional.

Physicians naturally want to focus on providing excellent patient care, Dr. Harris says. That's what makes us doctors. But in order to thrive we must first understand the context in which that care takes place. We must embrace these dollars-and-cents truths rather than running from them. When we do that our practices get stronger and stronger - which in turn allows us to provide better and better care.

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About the Author:

Michael T. Harris, MD, is a nationally recognized expert in the field of gastrointestinal surgery, particularly in advanced reconstructive surgical techniques for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis). He has helped pioneer the use of minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgical techniques for both diseases, and has one of the largest single IBD practices in the nation.

Mickey (only his mother calls him Dr. Harris) received his undergraduate degree cum laude from Cornell University in 1984, studying Russian Literature. He went on to earn his medical degree from The College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in 1988. He completed his general surgery residency at Mount Sinai and then was managing partner of a large private surgical practice for over 10 years. Mickey was awarded the Association of the Attending Staff / Bella Trachtenberg award in 1993 as Mount Sinai's most outstanding chief resident across all services.

Review:

Excellence with an Edge is a must read for any physician in leadership or striving to be in a leadership position. Dr. Harris brilliantly combines the financial acumen that is required to run a successful practice with the service principles that create loyal patients and referring physicians. --Matt Kalaycio MD, FACP, Professor, Department of Medicine Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University Co-Director, Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Director, Chronic Leukemia and Myeloma Program, Cleveland Clinic Taussig

Michael Harris has written a primer for doctors who want to survive financially in a competitive and ever changing market. His knowledge and wisdom has been gained but years of personal experience in bothe a successful private practice and institutional leader. The writing is clear, practical and uniquely fills the gaps in expertise of many physicians. --Lawrence Smith, M.D. Dean Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine

Physicians spend years training to be the very best at delivering excellent medical care to their patients. Unfortunately, most of us spend little more than several hours, if that, learning all that we need to learn to keep our practices alive and thriving. In this age of rapidly changing medical delivery and reimbursement systems, physicians must make it their duty to be well informed about the business of practicing medicine. Michael Harris' new book, Excellence with an Edge: Practicing Medicine in a Competitive Environment is an excellent compilation of practical information and astute business strategies for building and growing your practice. This book is a must read for every physician and office manager. We owe it to our patients and ourselves to learn this information of we plan to continue to provide care for our patients. I know my partners will each be getting a copy of this book to be read before our next practice meeting. --Jim Capozzi, M.D. Chairman, Dept of Orthopaedic Surgery Winthrop University Hospital

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