Generating Business in Gas

[juddson]

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I'm wondering what sorts of pressures an MDA feels to "generate business" in gas.

In my previous life, I was an attorney. As I moved up higher into the firm (and certainly as I would become a partner - 10 years down the road) I would be under enormous pressure to "generate business" for the firm. In fact, my potential to generate a book of business would be a key component of my evaluation for being offered a partnership position; and, I might add, the revenue the firm siphoned off of clients that I originated would be used to set my annual "draw" each year. The pressure to find clients would be ever-present and crushing. Anybody can practice law. Partners are paid to find law business.

And so i wonder what sorts of pressure to generate business apply to MDA's. How do MDAs (and maybe docs in general) find patients? Do Anesthesia Associates of Blackacre pay newly minted partners 300k a year JUST to handle cases - JUST to push gas??? Or are you expected to find patients?

And how do you do this anyway. Lawyers take the general counsel of BigCo to the box at the ball game, and poof (hopefully) BigCo is sending your thier business. But MDA's can't woo patients. Who do you woo? Do you even have to woo?

Lay it out for me. Show me the dark underbelly of GasCo.

Judd

 

[CaliGirlDO]

It seems to me that you're projecting too much of your experiences as a lawyer onto the world of anesthesiology. Maybe if you were talking about family practice or internal medicine your concerns would be more accurate for this kind of discussion.

Perhaps I am being naive, but from what I have noticed among anesthesiologists is that their relationship with their partners determine whether or not a person becomes a partner. It's not the patients who choose us, but it has more to do with our colleagues and what they think about your work ethic within the group and fit of personalities within the group rather than the ability to generate business.

As far as how groups generate business, it appears to me that a group as a whole contracts with private hospitals. You can also cater to individual surgeons, but the surgeon's preferences depend more on the personality or ability that he/she prefers to work with . The groups in private practice have already established which surgeons or hospitals they work with, for the most part.

It would seem to me that if you liked being the one in your partnership that markets the group around town, then by all means go for it.

Just from what I have seen with the recent trends in hiring, anesthesia groups "promise" to make you a partner from 1-4 years of working with the groups. I think the only contingency on becoming a partner is how you fit into the group...not necessarily generating business for them. Obviously if you practice in such a way that people (surgeons, OR personnel,etc) don't want to work with you...then that could limit you in your progress up the career ladder.

Again, these are just my observations from what I have seen in private practice groups.