Nicole, physicians & friends enjoying a post-Planning dinner.

I appreciate doctors who plan. Benton Franklin Orthopedic Associates is a physician-owned medical group of five orthopedic surgeons and one physician assistant, or PA. They are based in Kennewick, Washington and happen to be one of MedMan’s longest-running clients. We’ve been working with this group since 2001 and it’s been interesting to see the progression of this practice over that time.

Landing in Palm Springs

Last night, we kicked off our 2010 planning session in sunny Palm Springs, California. This group has committed themselves to getting off-sight – out of the hassles of day-to-day life which can be all too hard to ignore when you’re on your own turf. We started off by reviewing what we call the “Plan Matrix”. It’s basically the overview and progression of each year’s Plan. It’s interesting to look back over the years when ideas like integrating physical therapy and building an ASC were simply on the ‘someday/maybe’ list. Those things are now showing up in the ‘done’ category and it’s gratifying to know that MedMan has been a part of that progress.

I enjoy listening to them process non-clinical information too. So much of our interactions with doctors are clinical. It’s interesting to see how their minds work when you ask them questions about employee satisfaction, risk management, and business operations. Let’s face it – they are smart people and often-times more well-rounded and thought-provoking than they get credit for being.

In the 9 years that we’ve been partnering with BFOA, there was one year where no planning occurred. As new clients, maybe they didn’t feel like they needed to go through the exercise of again creating a strategic plan when they had just done one the year before. In talking to the doctors, they commented that the process of not planning made them realize how important it actually was. They’ve been regularly planning ever since and welcome the opportunity to get away and really focus on ways to improve their business…a business that allows them the opportunity to deliver high quality medical care to patients.