The challenge is that the vast majority of the more than 650,000 practicing physicians in the United States today have received little or no formal training in business administration. They have practiced medicine in a fee-for-service environment that has not required them to be aware of how the marketplace works and how a healthcare institution or practice must be run from a financial perspective. While they are clinical veterans, they are business novices in dire need of a new skill set that will help them navigate the choppy waters of post-managed care healthcare.
Enter the physician MBA program. Although some physicians may have earned their master’s of business administration (MBA) degree through a traditional program, there are now MBA programs tailored specifically for physicians to prepare them for increasingly complex processes, systems and trends in the healthcare industry, including new reimbursement structures, increased public reporting, advanced quality improvement initiatives, and the nuts and bolts of day-to-day operations where clinical and business imperatives intersect in a healthcare facility. It’s a strategic mindset that isn’t part of the medical indoctrination but is essential to success in the fast-paced business world.
“Physician leaders must be equipped with the knowledge and the skill sets they need so they can lead effectively and improve patient outcomes,” emphasizes Michael J. Stahl, PhD, professor of business and director of the Physician Executive MBA Program (PEMBA) at the University of Tennessee (UT). Stahl explains that PEMBA is an advanced educational degree offered exclusively to physicians seeking high-quality leadership, management and business operation skills. Going on its 10th year of operation, the program recognizes the shifting role of physicians from that of primary caregivers to that of business leaders in an evolving healthcare industry.
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