Last Friday, April 19th was a study in contrasts. I got home on Wednesday after AOPA’s policy forum and learned that a childhood friend’s father had just passed away. His funeral was scheduled for Friday, April 19, the same day my mother-in-law wanted to treat us to dinner for my birthday. It was cloudy and unusually cold that day. They say our neighborhood was a bit of a bubble, there were 7 of us, all the same age and our parents all looked out for us. I learned at the funeral of a poem he wrote that guided his life and the advice he gave.

This week I help you catch up on the hottest trends in O&P straight from the AAOP 2024 show floor! Discover how to:

• Turn everyday assessments into data-driven stories!

• Embrace new tech that accelerates wound healing!

• Master PROMIS and crush payer justification! (It's already in your OPIE!)

Don't miss out - these insights could transform your practice! If you are still in Chicago, Visit our booth (1025) and read on!

Last week I wrote about the problems we are having as a profession in getting paid for the professional services rendered in caring for persons in need of O&P care. That blog generated a lot of interest, I got phone calls, emails and comments posted online. Thank You! It is awesome to get feedback and obviously a lot of people are feeling the same frustration. Most of the questions were asking what we can do.

Have you ever felt the raw power of waves crashing against the shore? Each wave, unique in size and force, dances to its rhythm. But there's an analogy here. Your team: where each person, with different roles and expertise, can be a formidable force. Adaptability, like waves adjusting to the shore, is crucial. Synergy, as Stephen Covey notes, isn't compromise; it's finding that third option where the sum is greater than the parts. Dive into the ocean of synergy – is your team riding the wave of common purpose?

Are you constantly running on empty? Or at least constantly running? In this blog, I discuss the importance of recharging and taking time for yourself as a leader. I share my experience of taking a break and enjoying a sunset in the Caribbean, and I encourage you to find your own "Caribbean sunrise" - a moment of serenity that will help you recharge and be a better leader.

What do you think of when you read that word, Execution? Since this is generally a Business blog, I certainly hope your mind went straight to the meaning of getting things done. But the interesting thing is the flipside…what happens if we don’t get things done?

Are you interested in taking your practice to the next level? Do you want to turn your end-of-year reflections into tangible improvements? In this, my latest blog, I offer a guide to enhancing your practice's value, streamlining processes, and boosting patient care, all while keeping your team engaged and adaptable. Start your journey to operational excellence today. Remember that OPIE is committed to your success.

A year ago, what did you envision for your practice in 2023? What did you see when you conducted your environmental scan a year ago and set your business goals to capitalize on that? If you conducted a scan, were you right? What do you envision for your practice in 2024?

There are lots of ways to know if your business is profitable and I am sure you have heard all of the jokes, so I will spare you. There is a superficial profitability equation that essentially says revenue minus cost equals profit. Yes, at some level, that is all you need to know. But is it really enough to know only those top-line numbers?

I have talked about incorporating the Gemba walk into your routine to find opportunities to improve. But improve what? And how do you know if it made a difference? I made an assumption, and I’ll bet you did too…that we all agree on the objective. Do we? Does your whole team know what your business objectives are? No really…Not just generic “take care of patients and make money.” Something that vague leaves way too much open to interpretation and you end up in chaos.

Over the past month, two of my blogs have focused on decision-making. As you may be aware, I do talk to many people in the field, and I try to find patterns in the stories I hear. A troubling one is re-emerging. Like all things, the profession of O&P seems to be cyclical in nature. History surely repeats itself!

It’s ironic, this blog. Ideas come to me and I can write, but sometimes I suffer from writer’s block. A theme I can get connected to generally emerges and I can go to town. This week I was suffering, that is until we got take-out Chinese food last night! After dinner, we did the obligatory fortune cookie thing, and one “fortune” about decision-making stuck out.

What is the future of O&P? If your office sees patients in Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, or Washington, you have an opportunity to secure the future of O&P. I’m not joking. You see, CMS is launching a new pilot project intended to “advance value-based primary care, especially in rural areas and among underserved populations.” I know…we are not primary care…But is there an opportunity for you to benefit? I think so.