Daniel J Meara, MD, DMD

Welcome to the Business of Medicine Program.  Remember going to the new school and having to stand up and introduce yourself.  Now is your chance!

Describe the leadership style in an organization in which you were a member.  How would you characterize the leadership style?  Did it work?

Let’s hear your thoughts about the employment contract discussed in Part 2 of the video presentation.  Is it fair?  Would you like to change anything?  Was it confusing?  How does it compare with other contracts you have come across.  Do you take part in making sure that reimbursement from payers is efficient and fair?

We enter into many negotiations every day.  Please share a negotiation that you led or were a participant.  How would you characterize the results as, win/win, win/lose, lose/win or lose/lose.  If the results were less than optimal, what was the cause?

We always plan for the future, although sometimes not so much.  Please share an experience from your practice where you purchased a piece of equipment, hired a new provider, or started a new service.  What was the extent of planning behind the decision?  Was there a written business plan available to all to review?  

How are you preparing for health care reform and the changes that PCMH and cost ranking may bring to the market.  If you haven’t considered it at all, it is OK, you are not alone for a long shot. 

Tell us about your most frustrating, time consuming, keep me up at night problem in your practice.  What metrics would you chose to measure that characterize the problem?

Think about the most frustrating, expensive, keep me up awake at night problems that affect your ability to deliver care to your patients and share them here.  Comment on the metrics that you would choose with which to base your process improvement project.

What is your experience with asset acquisition in your practice? How do you go about requesting a  technology that your patients need?  What is your feeling for the process that the capital budgeting decision makers use to prioritize asset purchases?

We are well into ICD-10, yet full scrutiny of claims is going into effect during 2017 and 2018.  Is there a process in your practice to monitor billing at the higher level of scrutiny of coding by Medicare?  If so what metrics are you following.  

Tell us about your most frustrating, time consuming, keep me up at night problem in your practice.  What metrics would you chose to measure that characterize the problem?  Think about it, these are your subjects of data collection, not possible solutions.

If you have not taken the course yet, tell us how you would normally approach the p…[Read more]

Share a story about either good or bad leadership that you have experienced in your career?  How would you characterize your present leadership style?  Are there any changes on the horizon?

Are you currently a member of an ACO.  If so, has your practice been changed.  If not, what are your concerns about the ACO movement.

Are the departmental or practice level financial statements available to you?  Are you interested in reviewing them?  How is financial performance discussed? Do you see any utility to the transparency of this information for any provider?  Reply to one more than one or all.

As physicians we often see miracles occur with our patients.  Plan, Do, Study, Act has the potential to produce its own miracles through incremental changes in important processes.  The video presentation demonstrates real pain reduction with a seemingly miniscule intervention.  Think about an outcome in your practice that needs to be im…[Read more]

Think about decision generation in your practice.  How are major decisions addressed in your practice.  Knowing what you do now, how informed is the decision making process and is there anything you would change to improve it.

Before taking this course, what was the extent of your knowledge on MACRA reimbursement changes and how they would affect your practice?  Who do you depend upon to get you this type of information, and what was their role in preparing for MACRA changes.  Are you planning to get more involved in knowing what is going on?

This discussion is in two parts. 
First, make an argument why you should be involved in your department’s budget formation. 
Second, OK you have finished with this course.  Are you involved in the budget.  Have you ever seen it?  Has anyone ever asked your input?  Is the patient’s interested included in the process and if so who is their repre…[Read more]

Do you have any role in the budget decision making in your practice/organization?  If not, why not?  How transparent is the process?

Do you have access to the financial statements/information in your practice or department.  Have you ever tried to obtain it.  After viewing the presentation, do you feel there is any value in the transparency of financial information in your organization.