Summer 2008

Welcome to the quarterly member newsletter of the Virginia Medical Group Management Association (VMGMA).

Cover page

Don't miss the upcoming 'Passport to Paradise' fall conference

VMGMA's board to focus on four-part strategic plan

Northern Virginia managers hold first meeting

Regulations govern verification of credentials

Really connecting in our wired world

Learn more about employment law at VMGMA seminar

VMGMA news briefs

Practice Notes is the quarterly member newsletter of the Virginia Medical Group Management Association. If you have feedback regarding this newsletter, article ideas or suggestions, please contact the editor:

Frank Dieter
VMGMA Secretary
Phone:
(540) 373-1331
E-mail: fdieter@fredcardio.com

Really connecting in our wired world

by Patrick Morin
Featured Speaker at Upcoming VMGMA Fall Conference

The “20-something generation” is the most connected in the history of the world. Seventy-five percent have a Facebook or MySpace account, 76 percent own a cell phone and 34 percent use the Web as their primary source of news (Junco and Mastrodicasa, 2007). Young professionals are tech savvy and are networking in a way that most of us couldn’t before imagine, and the rest of us are getting drawn into it, too! There is, however, a negative byproduct to all of this connectivity: The most connected generation ever … is becoming more disconnected from each other.  

Granted, electronic communications are a great way to send information quickly, easily and efficiently to a large or very targeted audience. They are appropriate for sending out change notices or a “heads-up” of someone’s birthday. The negative byproduct of being so connected is loss of the human element. Abbreviated conversations and shortcuts in our language driven by e-mail and text messaging (e.g., LOL — laughing out loud) short circuit the emotional connection people have with one another. It results in the curtness most of us witness in our daily lives in serving others and in being served.
Medical practices present a particularly hard venue, and practice administrators have it harder than most. Pharma reps, employees, physicians and patients are all tugging at our coattails for time, and the chaos of the office sometimes leads to short tempers, which can lead to a breakdown of team communication. 

Longing for the days before Blackberrys, e-mail or the Internet is unproductive. To keep your team even-keeled and working together in stressful circumstances, go low-tech, high-touch. Here are some ideas:

1. Schedule downtime with the team. On a regular basis, get them together outside of the office to see each other in a different venue. Something as simple as a weekly gathering at a coffee shop 20 minutes before scheduled office hours allows non-business-related contact, light chat outside the norm and a gathering of forces for the day ahead. You’ll quickly realize the esprit de corps this common ritual can create. Institute one quick rule — no office chatter — and make sure no one is left behind. If someone misses, the team brings the person's coffee to the office.
2. Build a team that builds each other by holding a line-up, something I learned from no less a source than Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Every day, R-C has informal meetings with all 25,000 employees to brief them on what’s going on in the company and to reconnect them with each other. At least once a week, gather your team for a brief (no more than five to seven minutes) meeting. Go over the collective goals for the week (e.g., reduce total patient wait time, increase billing accuracy). Celebrate wins by pointing out exceptional efforts of contributors and announce birthdays and anniversaries. Keep it light; keep it short. This isn't a staff meeting — it’s intended to repurpose your team to the practice’s mission and each other.

A recent conversation with a Practice Administrator illustrates the critical need to connect on a personal level with the team. He told me of a 20-something billing clerk in his practice who sat directly outside his office. Given her proximity, it would seem she would be the easiest person with whom to speak. However, the Administrator relayed to me that she was the most difficult person in the office with whom to interact. She shunned face-to-face contact in favor of email.

There is a lot we can learn from our younger counterparts about the value of technology. Maybe it’s time we teach them something about the benefits of a handwritten note or the problem-solving power of a face-to-face conversation. In our wired world, it’s still the most powerful connection.

The author of this article, Patrick Morin, is CEO of CodeBlue Solutions and will be a featured speaker at the VMGMA Fall Conference. He can be reached at pbmorin@gmail.com or (804) 662-0886.

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