Physician, Inc: A Post-Residency Guide to Launching a Medical Career by @ZocDoc‎

ZocDoc has published a new white paper titled, "Physician, Inc: A Post-Residency Guide to Launching a Medical Career." 

When residents graduate from residency programs, how do they prepare for their medical career? Health care transformation is leading to some sweeping changes in physician employment, practice management, and medical career progression. The job market is evolving. Physicians value work/life balance. Some may even want to supplement their income or diversify their skill sets by diving into entrepreneurship or part-time non-clinical jobs.

Physician, Inc: A Post-Residency Guide to Launching a Medical Career brings together some of the nation’s best practice management consultants and physician leaders – along with a wealth of essential data – to answer key questions in all of these areas. From insight into the current job market to a detailed practice launch checklist, an extensive reference appendix, and more, this resource serves as a powerful and practical framework for pursuing success as a practicing physician.

Don't miss this unique & exciting conference this spring!

I'd like to tell you about a unique and exciting conference this spring. You won't want to miss this opportunity to gain critical business skills in the world of medicine:

The Medical Entrepreneur Symposium
Thursday, March 29, 2012 - Sunday, April 01, 2012
Delray Beach, Florida

This is the first business meeting of its kind for physicians, residents, entrepreneurs, and other healthcare professionals. This unique meeting will be focused entirely on helping physicians gain knowledge in all the components necessary to be successful in any healthcare related business, in their medical practice, in practice management, and in healthcare related entrepreneurial ventures.

The course director is Steven M. Hacker, MD, author of "The Medical Entrepreneur: Pearls, Pitfalls, and Practical Business Advice for Doctors."

Register before Thanksgiving & save $400. Also, use the discount code "NCJ2012" to save 10%!

You may view the 3-day agenda here.

For more information, visit www.TheMedicalEntrepreneur.com

Where to go to School for Medical Billing and Coding

Author: Patricia Walling

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the health care industry makes up several of the top ten sectors of the American economy that are growing. This is consistent with findings of both past government studies and those conducted by private economists. No one who reads the want ads needs official confirmation of something that is easily observable -- the health care field needs workers and it needs them as soon as possible.

Master of Science, Clinical Practice Management

Considering a graduate degree? Here's some information about the Master of Science, Clinical Practice Management, at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. (I'll be speaking at Texas Tech next month at the Annual MD/MBA Conference).

The Master of Science, Clinical Practice Management is an online graduate degree program for healthcare professionals. Here's some information from their website:

• Our Vision is to be the graduate degree of choice for working healthcare professionals.
• Our Mission is to provide practicing patient care providers and administrators with relevant, creditable and practical skills that will allow our graduates to excel as leaders, supervisors and managers in their organizational environment.
• Our Objective is to help our students advance professionally, become more successful in their current job, and obtain positions of greater responsibility in the healthcare setting.
• Our Goal is to be both professors and mentors in the degree experience and professional development process.

As a degree seeking student, you may be overwhelmed with the myriad of healthcare degrees available for you to pursue. If you work in the healthcare field, you may be considering a traditional MBA, MHA, or an alternative MS healthcare degree. Our 36 credit degree program is unique in the healthcare field as our program has specific emphasis on practice management, coding & billing, compliance, ambulatory care, business case analysis, data base management, and small practice strategy that will assist the patient care provider or administrator in becoming successful in the challenging world of healthcare in the ambulatory setting.

New Business of Medicine CME Series

No one likes to talk about the "business of medicine." After all, who wants to admit that patient care is a business?

Well, there's a new certified CME (continuing medical education) series that's jointly sponsored by Sermo and the University of Pennsylvania. In the world of CME, the word "sponsored" does not mean that they are financially supporting the activity. This CME series is supported by an educational grant from sanofi-aventis (yes, a pharma company supported this CME series on the business of medicine).

The first module is titled, "The Cash Only Practice: Reinventing an Old Practice Model."

The New Business of Medicine Series is an entire curriculum of CME-certified education in the area practice management. Stemming from identified gaps in practice management and related educational needs, the modules focus on how to improve practice with the ultimate goal of improving the delivery of care to patients. Interactive multimedia formats such as in-depth interviews, case studies and debates will be employed to bring this content into focus. Originally developed content from a multidisciplinary team of expert faculty -- physician practitioners and researchers with expertise in such areas as practice management, bioethics, billing and compliance is combined with data from actual practice experience to produce this unique curriculum.

Some of the resources you'll see listed on this CME site include:

• Ideal Medical Practices
• Society for Innovative Medical Practice Design (SIMPD)
  
• Physicians’ Foundation Survey (2008)

Before you consider a transition out of clinical medicine into the non-clinical side of health care, you may want to consider some alternative models of clinical practice. I encourage you to join Sermo so that you can view the discussions related to the topic of the business of medicine, concierge medicine, boutique medicine, and more.