Successful Medical Practice: Winning Strategies For Doctors

316 Pages·2005·11.631 MB·English

by  Aniruddha Malpani, Anjali Malpani

Successful
Medical Practice
- winning strategies tor doctors
Dr.Aniruddha Malpani, MD
Dr. Anjali Malpani, MD

Successful Medical Practice:
Winning Strategies for Doctors

Successful Medical Practice:
Winning Strategies for Doctors
Dr. Aniruddha Malpani, MD
Dr. Anjali Malpani, MD
PTN Communications
3-3-62A, New Gokhale Nagar,
Ramanthapur, Hyderabad - 500 013
Successful Medical Practice:
Winning Strategies for Doctors
Dr. Aniruddha Malpani, MD
Dr. Anjali Malpani, MD
Copyright:
Dr. Aniruddha Malpani and Dr. Anjali Malpani
Cartoons Copyright :
Dr. Hemant Morparia
Printed and Published by:
V. Bhava Narayana on behalf of PTN Communications.
3-3-62A, New Gokhale Nagar, Ramanthapur,
Hyderabad - 500 013
Tel Fax : [phone], Mobile : [phone]
e-mail:[email protected]
First Published 2005
Printed at:
Kala Jyothi Process Pvt. Ltd.,
1-1-60/5, R.T.C. Cross Roads, Musheerabad,
Hyderabad-500 020. A.P
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
any information storage or retrieval system, without prior
permission in writing from the publisher and authors.
Preface
The education of the doctor which goes on after he has
his degree is, after all, the most important part of his
education.
— John Shaw Billings (1838-1913)
Running a successful private practice can be hard work.
While medicine can be a very fulfilling profession, one
out of every three doctors reports that medical practice
leaves them dissatisfied because they have too little
time for themselves or their families. Doctors suffer
from depression four times as often as the general
population ; and many doctors hate their jobs and
dislike the majority of their patients. While most doctors
acquire a high degree of medical expertise during their
long years of professional training, unfortunately few
learn anything at all about the nuts and bolts of
running a practice. While some have a natural flair for
entrepreneurship, many end up doing badly in real-
life.
In fact, many doctors are now quitting practice
because of too much work, too much hassle, too much
competition, too much despair, and too little
reimbursement. They are increasingly feeling the
pressure of having to see more patients, do more in less
time, discount their fees sand face more competition.
vi I Preface
Like the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland, they find
they are having to work harder just to remain in the
same place. However, working harder (which is often
the only solution most doctors can come up with to
cope with this problem) is not the answer. After all,
there are only 24 hours in a day ! What doctors need to
learn is to work smarter, more efficiently, and more
productively—and with less hassle and more
satisfaction. The secret is to learn how to manage
yourself. The problem is that certain skills—especially
time management, knowledge management, and
relationship management—are not taught in medical
schools and most doctors have to learn them the hard
way. Unfortunately , the majority never do, and they
fail to live up to their potential, leading lives of quiet
desperation.
Like them, do you find that you are fed up of:
• Long energy-exhausting hours and crushing
workloads leaving little or no free time ?
• Demanding dissatisfied patients ?
• Inadequate payment for all your hard work ?
The purpose of this book is to help you find a truly
satisfying way of practising medicine which would:
• Give you control of your time;
• Allow you to do work which you felt was worthwhile,
for patients that you enjoy seeing; and
• Pay you well for your effort, so that you enjoy going
to work every day.
Many doctors feel they are very productive because
they see patients all day long. However, there is a
difference between being busy—which almost all
physicians are these days—and being productive. This
Preface I vii
is the difference between inputs, which is how busy
you are, and outputs, which is how productive you are
- and the smart doctor will focus on improving his
outputs. The better your practice fits with what you
really want to do, then the more productive—and
happier— you will be.
A hundred years ago , when life was much simpler,
the successful doctor was said to need three things; a
top hat to give him authority, a paunch to give him
dignity; and piles to give him an anxious expression.
Today, a doctor who wants to run a successful private
practice needs to be far more accomplished. He needs
to be :
• Clinician , who has polished medical skills, a
reassuring bedside manner; and a high personal
standard of medical ethics and professionalism;
• Academician, who is a constant learner , and keeps
up-to-date;
• Manager , who understands the business aspects of
running a profitable clinic, and is knowledgeable
about marketing and networking;
• Financial expert, who can manage his money and
his investments;
• CEO, who understands how to motivate staff and
lead people;
• Family provider, who is a good father and husband;
and a
• Self-care-taker, who know how to look after himself
and fulfill his personal needs .
While this may seem to be an intimidating list, there
are many techniques which can help you become more
successful. While many of these are based on simple
common-sense, this book will allow you to think about
viiil Preface
them clearly, so you can apply them to your own life.
The best practice management advice is disarmingly
simply : "Patients are the practice. Everything else is
just paperwork'."
All doctors have a different definition of success. For
someone, it may mean having lots of patients; for others
it may mean a new car every year; others may find it
in publishing high quality papers in academic journals,
while others find happiness in teaching students. There
are as many ways of having a successful private practice
as there are doctors, because everyone's definition of
success is very personal and private. You need to create
your own path, because success is internal and is
achieved when you reach your own goals. We are
privileged to be doctors - let's make sure we enjoy doing
what we do, so we can all be happy and successful in
our own lives !
— Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MD
— Dr Anjali Malpani, MD
Medical Director
Vital Signs,
Medical Practice Management Consultants,
Mumbai,
India.
Email:[email protected]