Moving Forward with Momentum
At the launch of The Centers, there was a great sense of enthusiasm that echoed from members throughout the organization. Driven by our shared passion for empowering the private practice model to deliver the highest-quality and most compassionate care, this infectious spirit caught the attention of our medical peers, insurance carriers and the media, both regionally and nationally. Today, with the bumps in the road associated with the Go Live process largely behind us, we are at a critical juncture in the history of our young and promising organization. We have a tremendous opportunity to seize the moment, continuing to leverage our combined strength to drive efficiencies and become national leaders in delivering the best orthopaedic care. As with any great endeavor, reaching these lofty goals won’t be easy, but I challenge each and every one of you – physicians, administrators and staff – to lean in and dedicate yourself to the task at hand as the rewards of our labor will be well worth it.
Before looking too far into the future, I think it’s important to take a moment to comprehend what we have already accomplished together. We are all truly pioneers who have done what no orthopedist has ever been able to do – create the largest single specialty of orthopaedic surgeons in this region and quite possibly the United States. We need to stop thinking small and embrace the enormity of these achievements.
Since we officially launched in January, we have already seen the power of The Centers through our greatly improved bargaining power with insurance carriers and the significant contract savings from a variety of our largest vendors. From speaking with other physicians within The Centers, I know many of us are already seeing large jumps in patient requests through our ability to now accept a wider range of insurance options. Despite all these major successes, now is not the time to rest on our laurels, rather, it’s the opportune time to rally together to keep this momentum going.
In order to remain on an upward trajectory beyond our early stages of growth, it is critical that we create and adapt new roles within the organization that will streamline responsibilities and protect our organization, individually and as a whole. Thus far, we have established a decent framework for new business development, including our 25 Board of Managers that have worked tirelessly to keep momentum alive across practices. But, realistically, we need specific committees in place, and therefore more hands on deck, in order to implement a lasting structure that can anticipate challenges, seek growth areas and withstand the test of time.
We can only achieve The Centers’ high potential if we can get every physician involved. To help reach that goal, I am recommending that each member of the Board of Managers should consider appointing a colleague to take an active role on one of the committees. Having a committee, and a board for that committee, will lighten the load of our 25 board members while also giving each of you the chance within the organization to get more involved in decision making.
In my opinion, there are two grey areas that desperately need attention first: Sharing best practices and compliance. In such little time, there is already a wealth of knowledge to be dispersed, thereby increasing the patient experience and eventual outcome. And, as we continue to rollout a unified delivery of service to our patients, having committees will enable focused groups to identify, master and direct the organization with best practices toward a path of success in each area of concentration.
I know that many of you, like me, are hungry to share ideas that will help grow our reach and prominence. As we come to the conclusion of our Strategic Planning meetings, it’s time we aggressively ramp-up our participation. Starting today, I task myself and each of you with getting creative and active. Bring your ideas to the table and offer your talent to advancing the team. In return for all of your hard work and commitment to stepping up, you will be strengthening this organization we all hold so dear, while helping to improve the delivery of orthopaedic care for all the patients we serve.
I look forward to working together with all of you, and to toasting our many successes at our upcoming First Annual Meeting of The Centers.