Whether you are an owner of a pediatric practice, an employed physician, a leader in a multi-specialty organization, a general pediatrician, a pediatric specialist or a pediatric surgical subspecialist, understanding the business of pediatrics is essential to providing good care to our patients. While the majority of pediatricians never intended to focus on the financial and operational aspects of providing pediatric healthcare, the reality is that they form the infrastructure on what and how care is delivered.
Now, more than ever, as healthcare delivery and financing are constantly changing, experiencing competition from outside the traditional healthcare system and patient/family expectations are evolving, coming together as pediatricians to address our unique challenges is essential to our future success as a profession. The Section on Administration and Practice Management (SOAPM) welcomes the diversity of our membership and embraces the perspectives of varied practice settings. If every child is to have access to high-quality, family-centered care focused on optimal outcomes, then it’s imperative that we work together to strengthen many different care delivery models.
Whether you are new to exploring how the business of pediatric practice impacts your professional future and the patients you serve, or you have extensive subject matter expertise, SOAPM is your home! SOAPM is the place at the Academy where pediatricians share their collective experiences, wisdom, failures and successes working together to create sustainable business models, effective practice implementation and care delivery. Along the way, the fellowship of colleagues who support each other on and off our robust listerv is one of the main strengths of our collaborative community.
So whether you are considering changing your practice setting, have a question on how to be appropriately paid for integrating mental health into your practice, want to better advocate with your institution on why they should establish a new pediatric service, how to attract and retain great team members or how to effectively implement on-line self-scheduling, join the SOAPM conversation!
I look forward to connecting with you soon! And while you are at it, please encourage your Practice Administrator/Office Manager to join their similarly minded colleagues on the Pediatric Practice Management Alliance (PPMA)!
Sue Kressly, MD, FAAP
Skressly@kresslypediatrics.com