title: Practicing medicine in a new environment: what can we learn from the business managers?
abstract: Physicians, once only responsible for patient care, now are responsible for their organization's management. Although this paradigm shift occasioned much opposition, most aspects of this change are improving as the rules are reevaluated and reconsidered. Physician managers have difficult tasks for which medical school provides no preparation. Employees must be individually evaluated, so their unique talents can be properly exploited and appropriately compensated. Each person's weaknesses must be improved upon with delicacy, while his or her strengths are given greater and greater focus. This is especially true with regards to billing and coding because the financial health of all healthcare businesses requires organizational competence in this arena. It is vital to have an understanding of each staff member's skills, talents, and knowledge, and a proper deployment of each person into the appropriate job. The goal of any manager is a group of satisfied employees who enjoy their work and make appropriately recognized contributions.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, MOP Building, Suite 380, 3502 9th Street, Lubbock, TX 79415, USA. eldo.frezza@ttuhsc.edu
authors.forename: Eldo Ermenegildo
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Frezza
authors.forename: Mitchell S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wachtel
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking; D003132:Commerce / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005376:Financial Management; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D010559:Personnel Management; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017749:Total Quality Management; D014481:United States