About: Dr. Rich Berning
Profile
Website
Posts by Dr. Rich Berning:
X Prize for a New Health Care Paradigm
June 2, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under .
The X Prize Foundation has announced a $10+ Million prize to the person or group that creates a fundamentally different US healthcare delivery system. I think the private medical practice community can win this prize!
In the description directly from the X Prize website it states “This first-of-its kind competition will focus on reinventing the health care system in a bold, measurable and scientific fashion to catalyze dramatic improvements in health and health care value in the United States. The Grand Challenge for the Healthcare X PRIZE is to create an optimal health paradigm that empowers and engages individuals and communities in a way that dramatically improves health value. The proposed prize is designed to improve health value by more than 50 percent in a 10,000 person community during a three year trial.”
The rest of the details can be found on the X Prize website if you want to start imagining how your ideal system would function.
Several private medical practices located relatively close in one region could easily create and treat a community of at least 10,000 patients. These practices could pool resources and create a microcosm, a medical utopia of sorts, along a new paradigm to show that patients received comprehensive care (including preventive care and education), while the small business community of private medical practices also thrived. We have to think big ideas in this uncertain time, and come out stronger and better. The X Prize might provide the impetus for positive change. What do you think? Can we private practice docs pull this one off?
Business Liability Insurance For Your Medical Practice Is A Must!
June 1, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under Financial
If you have a business, which a medical practice is of course, you need business liablity insurance. Your malpractice insurance won’t protect you if your patient slips on your front step and breaks her hip. As doctors, we’re used to the concept of risk. Some doctors are even comfortable with it, but I can only admit that to a limited degree. I really dislike taking on more risks than my profession requires, and Read more
Unsure about Obama's Health Plan Initiatives?
June 1, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under .
I need some help here. Hopefully someone can explain the implications of Obama’s proposed health plan changes to me in such a way that 1.) I understand, and 2.) Doesn’t cause me to go all “post office”. Surely the American Medical Association and other groups who represent doctors (especially doctors in private practices) won’t sell our soul for chicken feed. As a group we never recovered from allowing “managed care” manage the care we provide to our patients. Not to mention the reimbursement. I’m still a bit envious of my dentist friends who practice a much purer form of healthcare. And peoples’ teeth are looking ever whiter to me all the time! Not sure about their coronaries, but their teeth do shine.
Please share your insights about the changes Obama’s universal health plan will bring to our lives. Will we be better off, never giving away “free” care again, or will we be working even harder but for less pay and satisfaction? Will patients be better off, as an aggregate, or just the one’s who had minimal care in the past? Will we be able to emphasis preventive medicine with government support? Will Obamacare be coupled with national Tort reform? I’m trying to be optimistic, but deep down I’m getting that sick feeling again. Please share your comments!
Purchasing Medical Supplies and Services
May 25, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under .
Depending on the nature of your specialty, a large amount of supplies may be consumed by your medical practice. These items range from tongue depressors and table paper, to medications such as lidocaine and Penicillin for IM injection. Then there are the special purchases such as the flu vaccine, tetanus shots and the myriad of immunizations that pediatricians and family practitioners need to administer on a regular basis. Read more
Buying or Selling A Medical Practice
May 25, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under .
One way to jump start your own private practice is to buy one already operating. Many practicing physicians hope to sell their medical practice when they retire, either to their current partners or to a physician or group of physicians finishing their training. Buying or selling a medical practice is not like selling a car, or even a house or typical business. Usually only attorneys and licensed brokers can be used, not just for the sale, but even to determining a fair valuation for the practice. Read more
Developing Medical Office Protocols
May 22, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under Management, New Practice
As you get started, and as you reassess your progress and results, you’re going to want to have standardized protocols for many of the activities in your medical office. These can be bound together and serve as the core of your employee manual which is useful for your new employees, and I believe can become the basis for evaluating staff, giving bonuses, and even firing them should you need to do that unpleasant task. The more you automate, the fewer interruptions you will get and your whole private practice team will operate as one well-oiled machine. Read more
X Prize for a New Health Care Paradigm
June 2, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under .
The X Prize Foundation has announced a $10+ Million prize to the person or group that creates a fundamentally different US healthcare delivery system. I think the private medical practice community can win this prize!
In the description directly from the X Prize website it states “This first-of-its kind competition will focus on reinventing the health care system in a bold, measurable and scientific fashion to catalyze dramatic improvements in health and health care value in the United States. The Grand Challenge for the Healthcare X PRIZE is to create an optimal health paradigm that empowers and engages individuals and communities in a way that dramatically improves health value. The proposed prize is designed to improve health value by more than 50 percent in a 10,000 person community during a three year trial.”
The rest of the details can be found on the X Prize website if you want to start imagining how your ideal system would function.
Several private medical practices located relatively close in one region could easily create and treat a community of at least 10,000 patients. These practices could pool resources and create a microcosm, a medical utopia of sorts, along a new paradigm to show that patients received comprehensive care (including preventive care and education), while the small business community of private medical practices also thrived. We have to think big ideas in this uncertain time, and come out stronger and better. The X Prize might provide the impetus for positive change. What do you think? Can we private practice docs pull this one off?
Business Liability Insurance For Your Medical Practice Is A Must!
June 1, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under Financial
If you have a business, which a medical practice is of course, you need business liablity insurance. Your malpractice insurance won’t protect you if your patient slips on your front step and breaks her hip. As doctors, we’re used to the concept of risk. Some doctors are even comfortable with it, but I can only admit that to a limited degree. I really dislike taking on more risks than my profession requires, and Read more
Unsure about Obama's Health Plan Initiatives?
June 1, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under .
I need some help here. Hopefully someone can explain the implications of Obama’s proposed health plan changes to me in such a way that 1.) I understand, and 2.) Doesn’t cause me to go all “post office”. Surely the American Medical Association and other groups who represent doctors (especially doctors in private practices) won’t sell our soul for chicken feed. As a group we never recovered from allowing “managed care” manage the care we provide to our patients. Not to mention the reimbursement. I’m still a bit envious of my dentist friends who practice a much purer form of healthcare. And peoples’ teeth are looking ever whiter to me all the time! Not sure about their coronaries, but their teeth do shine.
Please share your insights about the changes Obama’s universal health plan will bring to our lives. Will we be better off, never giving away “free” care again, or will we be working even harder but for less pay and satisfaction? Will patients be better off, as an aggregate, or just the one’s who had minimal care in the past? Will we be able to emphasis preventive medicine with government support? Will Obamacare be coupled with national Tort reform? I’m trying to be optimistic, but deep down I’m getting that sick feeling again. Please share your comments!
Purchasing Medical Supplies and Services
May 25, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under .
Depending on the nature of your specialty, a large amount of supplies may be consumed by your medical practice. These items range from tongue depressors and table paper, to medications such as lidocaine and Penicillin for IM injection. Then there are the special purchases such as the flu vaccine, tetanus shots and the myriad of immunizations that pediatricians and family practitioners need to administer on a regular basis. Read more
Buying or Selling A Medical Practice
May 25, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under .
One way to jump start your own private practice is to buy one already operating. Many practicing physicians hope to sell their medical practice when they retire, either to their current partners or to a physician or group of physicians finishing their training. Buying or selling a medical practice is not like selling a car, or even a house or typical business. Usually only attorneys and licensed brokers can be used, not just for the sale, but even to determining a fair valuation for the practice. Read more
Developing Medical Office Protocols
May 22, 2009 by Dr. Rich Berning
Filed under Management, New Practice
As you get started, and as you reassess your progress and results, you’re going to want to have standardized protocols for many of the activities in your medical office. These can be bound together and serve as the core of your employee manual which is useful for your new employees, and I believe can become the basis for evaluating staff, giving bonuses, and even firing them should you need to do that unpleasant task. The more you automate, the fewer interruptions you will get and your whole private practice team will operate as one well-oiled machine. Read more
Healthcare X PRIZE