Send us a text Today’s episode is for every physician, administrator, and practice leader who's ever asked themselves: “Should we stay independent, or should we align with a larger system?” As hospital and health plan consolidation continues and private equity activity in healthcare grows, independent practices are facing unprecedented pressure. But here’s the thing—staying independent isn’t just possible, it’s essential to a healthy, balanced healthcare system. And for many physicians, it’s the...
Jul 08, 2025•16 min•Season 3Ep. 137
Send us a text Today I am joined by Tony Andrade, CPA, who is an expert in finance and accounting for medical groups and hospitals. Tony and I talk about financial metrics that are critical for groups to monitor, and about how and when a group might need an audit and the different types of audits that can be used. We touch a bit on embezzlement, and we wrap by talking about private equity investing in medical groups, and where we see the future of financial wellness is for medical groups. Tony's...
Jul 01, 2025•47 min•Season 3Ep. 136
Send us a text What if the most powerful medicine we can offer isn’t a prescription, but peace of mind? For many patients, a visit to the doctor’s office triggers more than just clinical concerns. There’s anxiety. Uncertainty. Sometimes even fear. And not necessarily because of a diagnosis—but because of the entire experience of being a patient in a complex, often intimidating environment. As we said in our last episode, we enter our clinical facilities every day, and the experience is familiar ...
Jun 24, 2025•13 min•Season 3Ep. 135
Send us a text What’s the first impression your patients get of your practice? Spoiler alert—it’s not your clinical expertise. It’s not the credentials on the wall. It’s not the sophisticated EHR system you’ve invested in. It’s not even your outcomes data—at least not initially. The first impression starts the moment someone steps through your doors, and it’s rooted in an often-overlooked space: your waiting room. Or should I say, what we used to call a waiting room. Today, we’re diving into why...
Jun 17, 2025•15 min•Season 3Ep. 134
Send us a text What would happen if we valued our patients' time as much as they value ours? Take a moment with that question, because it’s not rhetorical. It's the starting point for a profound shift in how we deliver care, structure operations, and engage with our communities. In a healthcare system increasingly shaped by convenience, accessibility, and consumer expectations, the simple act of respecting time—your patients’ time—can become the differentiator that sets your practice apart. Toda...
Jun 10, 2025•15 min•Season 3Ep. 133
Send us a text Today’s episode is about something that’s often misunderstood in medical groups—but is more critical than ever: your brand. Branding isn’t just for Madison Avenue. It’s not just for Nike, Apple, or national hospital chains. In today’s healthcare landscape, branding is a core part of your strategy. It’s how patients find you, how talent decides to join you—or not—and how your community understands who you are and what you stand for. Let’s set the record straight right at the top: b...
Jun 03, 2025•13 min•Season 3Ep. 132
Send us a text Today’s guest is Adrienne Lloyd, MHA, FACHE—founder and CEO of Optimize Healthcare, where she helps medical organizations build empowered teams and sustainable operations without burnout. With over 20 years of experience, including executive leadership roles at the Mayo Clinic and Duke Health, Adrienne brings a deep understanding of what makes healthcare systems thrive. She’s also the creator of the Day Zero Blueprint™, a transformative framework for leaders looking to reset their...
May 27, 2025•32 min•Season 3Ep. 131
Send us a text Today we’re going to talk about something that’s become more than just a buzzword—it’s become a mandate. Innovate or die. That might sound dramatic, but in healthcare, it’s reality. With rapidly shrinking margins, increasing administrative burdens, staffing shortages, and an ever-changing technological landscape, standing still is the fastest way to fall behind. And yet, so many medical groups are still relying on outdated processes, inefficient systems, and legacy thinking. Today...
May 20, 2025•14 min•Season 3Ep. 130
Send us a text In this episode, I am joined by Kristi Olsen, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at Beginly Health, an innovative new digital platform for physician recruitment. Kristi has a wealth of knowledge in the physician recruitment space, having successfully recruited hundreds of physicians for a regional health system for the first many years of her career. This episode is critical, as recruitment is one of the things we hear repeatedly from administrators, physician owners and CEO’s a...
May 13, 2025•35 min•Season 3Ep. 129
Send us a text Today we’re getting serious about something that silently chips away at your revenue, frustrates your staff, and leaves your bottom line looking weaker than it should be: claim denials. Because here’s the truth: the average practice loses thousands—sometimes hundreds of thousands or even millions—each year to preventable denials. But these aren’t just billing department headaches. They’re indicators of broken processes that are costing you real money. And, in many cases, physician...
May 06, 2025•18 min•Season 3Ep. 128
Send us a text Today’s topic hits home for just about every medical practice out there: EMRs. They’re the systems we love to hate—and sometimes just outright hate. But here’s the thing: many practices are sitting on a goldmine and don’t even realize it. Instead of scrapping your current EMR and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars switching, what if you could get a major upgrade simply by using what you already have? Many medical groups only use about 30–40% of their EMR's capabilities. Tha...
Apr 29, 2025•15 min•Season 3Ep. 127
Send us a text Dr. Nandita Gupta is a physician executive and a Chief Medical Officer at Peace Health, a faith-based not-for-profit health center serving Oregon, Washington & Alaska. She is a practicing cardiologist and advocate for leadership development and a thought leader on Executive Presence. She has 25 years of clinical experience and nearly 2 decades of healthcare leadership experience as Chief of Medicine, Chief of Cardiology, Cardiovascular service line director, Associate CMO and ...
Apr 22, 2025•34 min•Season 3Ep. 126
Send us a text Welcome back to the podcast where we dig into the business realities of medical practice—from strategy to staffing to leadership and beyond. If you’re part of a medical group that’s ever been through a merger—or even just considered one—today’s episode is going to hit close to home. We’re diving into a topic that doesn’t always make the due diligence checklist, but it absolutely determines the long-term success or failure of any group merger: culture. You’ve probably heard the old...
Apr 15, 2025•14 min•Season 3Ep. 125
Send us a text Today we’re diving into a topic that’s often whispered about—but rarely addressed head-on. In every medical group, there’s a silent script running behind the scenes. One that influences decisions, leadership roles, and even day-to-day operations. It’s not in your bylaws. It’s not in your policy manual. But it definitely impacts your group’s future. We’re talking about the politics of practice. The power dynamics. The unspoken rules of leadership that determine who really holds the...
Apr 08, 2025•14 min•Season 3Ep. 124
Send us a text You get what you measure. That’s the truth—whether we’re talking about healthcare, business, or even personal habits. In medical group management, this couldn’t be more important. The KPIs you choose to track will inevitably shape your decisions, your focus, and the behavior of your teams. Measure the right things, and you’ll drive alignment, efficiency, and growth. Measure the wrong things—or worse, measure nothing at all—and you’ll find yourself making decisions in the dark. Tod...
Apr 01, 2025•15 min•Season 3Ep. 123
Send us a text Join me for this engaging conversation with David Womack, President and CEO at the Practice Management Institute, where he has been leading their operations for 34 years. David is an expert in the field of training within the healthcare space, and he walks us through the need for a strategic training plan, and how that commitment needs to come from the physicians first. Practice Management Institute offers training and certification programs for medical office professionals, cover...
Mar 25, 2025•36 min•Season 3Ep. 122
Send us a text Welcome to this episode, where we’re diving deep into a topic that could make or break the future of your private practice: financial strategy. If you’re a physician, practice manager, or administrator trying to navigate shrinking reimbursements, rising costs, and the ever-changing healthcare landscape, this episode is for you. We’re going to talk about real financial solutions to help private practices stay independent—because here’s the truth: The cost of not addressing your fin...
Mar 18, 2025•13 min•Season 3Ep. 121
Send us a text I am joined for this episode by Eric Gonzales, Senior Vice President and Healthcare Market Director for Umpqua Bank. We talk about how a banker can (and should) be one of the trusted advisors that physicians call upon when planning for new things, whether it is a new partner, a new service line or a real estate purchase. We talk about different types of financing available and Eric details the process for applying for financing and how best to prepare. He outlines how supportive a...
Mar 11, 2025•32 min•Season 3Ep. 120
Send us a text Today, we’re tackling one of the biggest stressors in medical practice ownership—cash flow instability. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why your revenue fluctuates so much, why some months feel like you’re drowning in expenses while others feel just fine, or why no matter how hard you work, the financial security of your practice always seems uncertain—this episode is for you. Here’s the hard truth: many medical groups are riding a financial rollercoaster, completely at th...
Mar 04, 2025•13 min•Season 3Ep. 119
Send us a text Welcome to today’s episode, where we’re going to talk about something that isn’t fun to think about but is absolutely essential if you own or manage a medical practice: internal controls to prevent embezzlement. Now, before you think, “Oh, that’s not something I need to worry about,” let me hit you with some numbers. The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) estimates that 83% of medical practices will experience employee theft at some point. Eighty-three percent. That means...
Feb 25, 2025•13 min•Season 3Ep. 118
Send us a text Join me for an informative conversation with Compliance Guru, Jodi Faustlin. She has spent many years running medical groups, and realized that compliance was one of the biggest opportunities for improvement and action. So, she has decided to devote her career to working with medical groups on this important endeavor. We talk through several lessons she's learned over the years, along with some easy steps that physicians can take to get their compliance house in order. We stay foc...
Feb 18, 2025•36 min•Season 3Ep. 117
Send us a text Today, we’re talking about something that affects every medical practice, yet often goes unaddressed: trust—or more specifically, the trust deficit between patients and their healthcare providers. Trust is the foundation of healthcare. Patients trust us with their health, their fears, and sometimes even their lives. But what happens when that trust starts to erode? What’s the cost of not addressing a growing sense of skepticism among patients? And why do so many physicians and pra...
Feb 11, 2025•13 min•Season 3Ep. 116
Send us a text If you’re feeling like your team is running on fumes, drowning in inefficiencies, and barely keeping up with the daily demands of patient care, you’re not alone. The challenge of balancing efficiency with staff well-being is real. But here’s the thing: optimizing workflows isn’t just about working faster—it’s about working smarter. A well-run practice doesn’t just happen. It’s designed. And when workflows are neglected, the damage is real—burned-out employees, frustrated patients,...
Feb 04, 2025•13 min•Season 3Ep. 115
Send us a text Welcome to this episode of the Medical Money Matters podcast. I’m so glad you’re here, because today we’re diving into a topic that impacts every medical practice—whether you’re a solo provider or part of a large group. Patient retention. If you’ve ever wondered why patients leave, what it costs your practice when they do, or how to build a loyal following in a competitive market, you’re in the right place. Here’s the reality: healthcare has changed. Patients have changed. Today, ...
Jan 28, 2025•14 min•Season 3Ep. 114
Send us a text Today, we're diving into a topic that’s transforming the way healthcare practices grow and thrive: the digital front door. In a world where convenience and technology reign supreme, staying ahead of the curve isn’t just about embracing change; it’s about survival. Patients today expect seamless, efficient interactions with their healthcare providers, and the costs of not keeping up with these expectations can be enormous—financially, reputationally, and even in terms of team moral...
Jan 21, 2025•12 min•Season 3Ep. 113
Send us a text Today, we’re going to tackle an issue that’s been a thorn in the side of so many practice owners and administrators: hiring, and not only hiring, but hiring your dream team! Let me guess—you’ve said it before, maybe even this week: “It’s so hard to find good help these days.” It’s a sentiment we hear constantly, and one that can feel incredibly frustrating. Staffing challenges can lead to burnout, inefficiencies, and even affect patient care. But here’s the thing: What if we could...
Jan 14, 2025•15 min•Season 3Ep. 112
Send us a text Compensation isn’t just about money—it’s about value, recognition, and culture. It’s no wonder it’s one of the most emotionally charged topics in any medical group. Today’s topic is one that often stirs strong emotions: physician compensation. Designing an effective pay model is one of the most challenging tasks for any practice leader. Why? Because pay isn’t just a number on a paycheck—it’s deeply tied to how we view our contributions, our worth, and our role within the group. Fo...
Jan 07, 2025•14 min•Season 3Ep. 111
Send us a text Today, we’re exploring a topic that’s top-of-mind for many practice leaders: workforce optimization. Specifically, how can strategies like offshoring, artificial intelligence, and robotic process automation help you future-proof your workforce while driving down costs and increasing efficiency? Did you know that workforce costs account for nearly 60% of total expenses in most medical practices? What if there was a way to cut those costs while improving efficiency? Here’s the reali...
Dec 31, 2024•14 min•Season 3Ep. 110
Send us a text Today, we’re diving into one of the most transformative changes in healthcare: the shift to value-based care. It’s not just a buzzword—it’s a movement that’s reshaping how medical practices operate, get reimbursed, and deliver care. Picture this: a tale of two clinics in the SAME city. One is thriving under a value-based care model, consistently earning incentives and providing excellent patient outcomes. The other is stuck in the old fee-for-service world, struggling to maintain ...
Dec 24, 2024•13 min•Season 3Ep. 109
Send us a text Today, we’re talking about a discipline that every practice needs but too few truly master—budgeting. Think of your budget as the GPS of your practice’s finances. Without it, you’re driving blind, hoping to reach your destination but constantly at risk of wrong turns, delays, or running out of gas altogether. A budget is more than numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s the roadmap for your practice, helping you prioritize resources, stay financially stable, and make smart, informed decisi...
Dec 17, 2024•11 min•Season 3Ep. 108
