On Generation Gaps, HR Errors and 40 Years of Anesthesia Consulting

Anesthesia consultant Shena J. Scott, MBA, FACMPE, notes in her lead article for this issue that bridging generational differences among anesthesia group members to build a cohesive practice is less a matter of understanding generational personalities than an issue of sensitivity to developmental timing.

In other words, though generation certainly plays a role, the key to creating group satisfaction across generational divides is consideration for where individual clinicians are in their lives, combined with insight about some generational tendencies.

Also in this issue:

Will Latham, MBA, explores the challenging topic of compensation for anesthesia group leaders, including board members and others who take on significant leadership roles within the group in addition to their clinical responsibilities. Although groups often voice reasons why these leaders need not be compensated, Mr. Latham argues that they should be, because the time spent in these roles is as central to the good of the practice as the clinical work. He offers a framework to help practices set policy and determine the specifics.

In 20 years as an attorney specializing in commercial and employment law, Patricia A. McCausland, JD, has developed a good sense of the types of human resources issues over which businesses, anesthesia practices included, most frequently falter. These range from putting the practice at risk of employment-related litigation stemming from incomplete documentation of employee discipline and performance to the problems that can arise from lack of attention to potential instances of reverse discrimination. Ms. McCausland probes some of the most common HR-related misconceptions and suggests how practices can avoid them.

ABC’s Jody Locke, MA, offers a primer for anesthesia groups on weighing the pros and cons of potential contracts with ambulatory facilities. Because every ambulatory opportunity is unique, groups must determine each agreement’s true potential upfront and develop a clear business plan for each new contractual arrangement, including budget projections for both collections and cost. “If the collections do not increase as projected, the practice should have the right to cancel the contract,” he advises.

Likening hospital-anesthesia group relationships to marriages, Mark F. Weiss, JD, explores ways to keep the love alive, with a focus on enhancing your facility’s perceptions of your group’s value. “What programs and initiatives have you created at the facility that increases that perception? What add-on services do you provide at little to no cost to you that produce a disproportionate increase in perceived value? How often do you meet with the facility’s leadership, both administrators and medical staff leaders, to stoke topof- mind thinking of the value that you create?” he writes.

Returning to Ms. Scott’s point about generations, like most Baby Boomers, in 1979, when my wife Sue and I started ABC, naturally, I was in a much different place personally and professionally than I am today. In the four decades since, as healthcare and the anesthesia market have transformed, and then transformed again—and again—Sue and I have certainly grown as individuals and business owners.

What stands out most proudly to me in 2019—ABC’s 40th anniversary—is seeing the extent to which the company has also evolved in tandem with the increasingly multifaceted and wide-ranging needs of anesthesia and pain management practices.

What started 40 years ago in a small space as a two-person endeavor focused on anesthesia billing and coding for several private practices has, both organically and strategically, developed into a national operation with a team of talented and committed professionals in dozens of locations serving several thousand members of the specialty.

ABC has also expanded beyond its original primary focus on anesthesia billing, serving today, along with our subsidiaries, Plexus Management Group and Plexus Technology Group, as a business partner as well as a billing partner for our clients, with services still focused on anesthesia billing, but encompassing virtually every major facet of anesthesia practice management as well.

What hasn’t changed in 40 years is Sue’s and my respect and admiration for the anesthesia profession and passion for what we do. As always, we appreciate your faith in us.

With best wishes,

Tony Mira
President and CEO