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BUSINESS
broader understanding of the health care system. In addition, lead- References
ership and communication skills are vital for future success. If there 1. Christensen, Clayton M. (1997), The Innovator's Dilemma: when
was ever a right time to obtain additional certification and training
around the business of health care, it is now. new technologies cause great firms to fail, Boston, Massachusetts,
USA: Harvard Business School Press
• Focus on culture 2. Berwick DM, Nolan TW, Whittington J. The Triple Aim: Care,
As mentioned above, one of the largest challenges for an incum- Health, and Cost. Health Affairs. 2008 May/June;27(3):759-769.
bent is to handle the cultural change required to respond to disrup- 3. Christensen, Clayton M.; Grossman, Jerome H.; Hwang, Jason
tion. The leadership and communication skills mentioned above will (2008), The Innovator's Prescription: a disruptive solution for
be crucial for physicians to help their organizations manage what lies health care, New York, New York, USA: McGraw-Hill
ahead, so that if and when the disruptor arrives on the scene, they
are able to respond appropriately and do not become the Kodak of 4. Dan, Avi. “Kodak Failed by Asking the Wrong Marketing Ques-
health care. tion,” Forbes, January 23, 2012, http://www.forbes.com/sites/avi-
dan/2012/01/23/kodak-failed-by-asking-the-wrong-marketing-qu
• The patient as customer estion/#543eb1d37dd7
An example of the culture change the adjustment to treating the
5. Kaissi, Amer. “If you Can’t Beat Them Join Them: What can Pri-
patient as a customer. This is not to say that “the customer is always mary Care Physicians Learn from Retail Clinics?” San Antonio
right” but rather to view your practice and its processes from the per- Medicine, December 2016, 69(12):14-17.
spective of the patient. As individuals are pushed to shoulder higher
and higher out of pocket costs they are demanding more choice and 6. Copeland, Bill, Michael E. Raynor, Natasha Elsner, and Ryan
a more patient-centered focus. The successful practice will be re- Carter, “Beyond the Acute Care Episode: Can Retail Clinics Cre-
quired to redesign its processes to meet this growing demand for con- ate Value in Chronic Care?” Deloitte University Press, October
venience, simplicity, and alternative ways of delivering care. 14, 2016.
https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-en/industry/health-care/re-
What the health care industry will ultimately look like is hard to tail-clinics-chronic-care-management.html
say. To quote Niels Bohr: “Prediction is difficult, especially about the
future.” What is clear, however, is that the status quo is not acceptable 7. “Growth in Health Care Costs, CBO Testimony, Statement of
and we need to make big changes so that we can improve access, re- Peter Orszag, Director, before the Committee on the Budget,
duce costs, improve quality, and improve the work life of health care United States Senate, January 31, 2008.
providers. As a result, the challenges ahead will require health sys- https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/89xx/doc
tems, physician groups, and other incumbents to not only have their 8948/01-31-healthtestimony.pdf
ear to the ground to follow all of the latest regulatory and other in-
dustry trends, but to be open minded to new ways of delivering care 8. “DOJ, FTC Focus on Busy Healthcare Deals Landscape,” PwC
and to have a nimble culture that will allow them to adapt to the Health Research Institute, Regulatory Spotlight, September 2016.
changes ahead.
9. “Average Annual Workplace Family Health Premiums Rise Mod-
Edward Schumacher is Professor of economics and Chair of the Health est 3% to $18,142 in 2016”, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foun-
Care Administration at Trinity University. He has been studying and dation, September 16, 2016.
writing on the health care industry for over 20 years. The Executive Mas- http://kff.org/health-costs/press-release/average-annual-work-
ter’s Program at Trinity is ranked in the Top 10 programs nationally. The place-family-health-premiums-rise-modest-3-to-18142-in-2016-
part-time, hybrid-learning format is designed for physicians and man- more-workers-enroll-in-high-deductible-plans-with-savings-optio
agers currently working in a healthcare setting who have decided to pur- n-over-past-two-years/
sue a graduate degree while continuing to work full-time.
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