How to Start, Run and Build a Physician Consulting Practice
Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel & Conference Center
Chicago, IL
September 23, 2010
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Executive Summary:
A proven way to either supplement your income or transition out of a clinical career is to serve as a consultant. Consulting can be highly lucrative, most of the work can usually be done from a home office and overhead, start-up costs and risks are relatively small. This hands-on intensive workshop will show physicians how to start, build, and run a high paying consulting practice. Attendees will be guided to find their best consulting niches and be provided with strategies for getting started, and building, marketing and expanding their new consulting practice. Emphasis will be placed on the practical needs of the physician and his or her consulting practice. Physicians will be provided the tools, forms, and checklists to get their consulting practice off the ground.
Faculty:
Steven Babitsky, Esq. is the President and founder of SEAK, Inc., a continuing education, training, consulting, and publishing firm. He is the co-author of the book Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians (www.nonclinicalcareers.com) and has trained thousands of physicians over the past 26 years. Steve has served as a consultant for many years in the fields of marketing, business development, risk management, and negotiation. He is an expert on medical-legal consulting and has co-authored numerous books in this field and has worked one on one with numerous physicians to help them expand their consulting practices. He was a personal injury trial attorney for twenty years and is the former managing partner of the firm Kistin, Babitsky, Latimer & Beitman.
Jonathan Cargan, MD is President of Phoenix Ascendant Consulting in Norristown, PA. Dr. Cargan received his BA from Johns Hopkins University and his MD from Pennsylvania State University Medical Center. Dr. Cargan has had extensive experience as a consultant and freelance writer for major pharmaceutical and vaccine companies. He is a contract writer for a major Infectious Disease website. He has consulted to three separate billion dollar product franchises and has a current specialization in medical aspects of product promotion (phase IV) and strategic and competitive issues.
Kenneth H. Cohn, MD, MBA is a consultant in the area of physician-hospital relations. Dr. Cohn is an adjunct professor of management at New England College, CEO of HealthcareCollaboration.com, and a locum tenens general surgeon. Dr. Cohn received his BA from the University of Rochester, his MD from Columbia, and his MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth. Dr. Cohn is the author of Better Communication for Better Care: Mastering Physician-Administrator Collaboration and Collaborate for Success! Breakthrough Strategies for Engaging Physicians, Nurses, and Hospital Executives and the Editor of The Business of Healthcare and Improving Physician-Hospital Relations: A Field-Tested System.
Registration Information:
The $495 tuition includes a seminar handbook with forms and checklists, continental breakfast and lunch with faculty, and a dynamic learning experience.
LOCATION/HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS: Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians will be held at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel & Conference Center in the village of Rosemont, IL. This full service “fly in fly out” property is easily accessible to Chicago’s O’Hare airport and provides complimentary 24 hour shuttle service to and from O’Hare Airport and is a modern, well-equipped quiet hotel. All of the guest rooms are brand new and come equipped with additional amenities such as refrigerator, in-room safe, cordless telephone, 32 inch High Def. LCD TV, double paned windows and full size sofa-sleepers in all King bedded rooms. The Crowne Plaza Chicago is located directly across the street from Rosemont Convention Center. The compact Village of Rosemont is a very popular convention destination that features over 5,000 hotel rooms, numerous restaurants including Morton’s, Nick’s Fish Market, and Mccormick and Schmick’s, the brand new state of the art 101,000 square foot Muvico Theaters Rosemont 18, the Rosemont Theater, the Museum of Hummels and other attractions. The Chicago Loop and Magnificent Mile are accessible via taxi or you can walk to the subway from the Crowne Plaza. SEAK has secured a special group rate of $119/night (single and double). Rooms are limited and this rate expires on August 19, 2010. To make your reservations, please call 888-233-9527 and refer to the SEAK Group rate.
SCHEDULE
7:30–8:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00–8:30 Introduction to Consulting
Faculty will provide an overview of what they like and dislike about their consulting practices. Included will be an overview of financial rewards, the ability to work from a home office, intellectual satisfaction, travel requirements, and the demands of clients. Questions and Answers
8:30–9:15 Consulting Opportunities Available for Physicians
The faculty will identify some of the almost limitless consulting opportunities available to physicians including: advertising, coding, disability, expert witness, federal and state government, financial companies, freelance writing, hospital administration, leadership, life insurance, managed care, medical device, medical management, payor consulting, pharma, pharmacovigilance, practice management, real estate, subject matter expertise. The faculty will present case studies of physicians who are actively involved in consulting. Questions and Answers
9:15–10:15 Finding Your Consulting Niche
Each and every physician attendee has one or more potentially lucrative and interesting consulting niches they can pursue successfully. Physicians will be shown how to assess their expertise, experience, training, credentials, skills, abilities, interests and passions to identify their best consulting niche(s). A simple and straightforward protocol for identifying and analyzing potential niches will be presented and demonstrated with volunteer attendees. Questions and Answers
10:15–10:30 Break (Networking Opportunity)
10:30–11:15 Breaking into the Field, How to Get Your First Few Clients
The toughest consulting assignments to obtain are likely to be your first assignments. In this segment the faculty will describe numerous proven ways to break into physician consulting. As part of this segment the faculty will discuss case studies which show exactly how other physicians have obtained their first few consulting assignments. Questions and Answers
11:15–12:00 Fee Setting, Fee Structuring, Billing and Payment
One of the more challenging aspects of being a physician consultant is setting your fees and being promptly paid for your experience, expertise, special skills, contacts and results achieved. In this segment faculty will identify the key pricing strategy utilized by successful consultants and discuss the pros and cons of each strategy. Discussion will include daily vs. hourly rate, price-fixed projects, variable pay with contingencies, project basis, and value based pricing. The secret for receiving high fees will be presented. Faculty will offer simple and effective strategies for achieving prompt payment. Questions and Answers
12:00–1:00 Lunch (Provided With Faculty)
1:00–2:00 The Business Side of Consulting: Running Your Consulting Practice
Attendees will learn myriad techniques for starting and building a successful consulting practice. Faculty will present forms and procedures for assignment intake, billing systems, updates to the client and numerous other business considerations for the physician consultant. Cost effective use of support staff, letters of agreement, client updates and communication will be provided. Risk management techniques and insurance requirements will be discussed. Best practice in physician consulting office management will be presented. A discussion of the utility and necessity of insurance, corporate structure and risk management will be presented. Faculty will present the key elements of a consulting assignment and provide advice on how to succeed at each stage and make the assignment successful for both client and consultant. Included is scope of assignment, time allotted, goals of client and consultant, methodology, adequate financing and resources, and cooperation from the client. Questions and Answers
2:00–3:00 Marketing and Building Your Consulting Practice
Faculty will discuss and present simple, yet effective, techniques for starting, building, marketing and growing your consulting practice. Defining your services, identifying customers, and how to reach them cost effectively will be discussed. Identifying your target market, tracking, setting, meeting and exceeding the expectations of clients, word of mouth referrals and how to obtain them, client development opportunities, networking, relationship marketing, and numerous other cost-effective marketing techniques will be presented and discussed. Questions and Answers
3:00–3:15 Break (Networking Opportunity)
3:15–4:00 Client Retention and Satisfaction
Faculty will present and discuss the key elements for client retention and satisfaction. Included in the discussion is setting of realistic goals and expectations, consistency, transparency, connecting with clients, positioning yourself as a go to resource, and generosity with information. The importance of quality work delivered in a timely, organized fashion will be presented. The faculty will present 25 techniques for building a solid client relationship that will endure and stand the test of time. Questions and Answers
4:00–4:30 Consulting Ethics
Faculty will discuss and present ethical best practices and codes of conduct for physician consultants. Included will be a discussion of: accepting only projects you are qualified for, placing the clients interests ahead of your own, learning on your own time, avoiding conflicts, proposing and charging only for work that needs to be done, creating your client’s independence and more will be presented and discussed. Questions and Answers