SoundPractice American Association for Physician Leadership®

The 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey introduced us to HAL, a fictional artificial intelligence character that interacted with the astronauts. HAL would be pleased to learn that his AI progeny are helping to improve healthcare.
In this episode, Mike Sacopulos interviews Manijeh Berenji, MD, MPH, a double board-certified physician specializing in occupational and environmental medicine as well as preventive medicine. Berenji is chief of occupational health at VA Long Beach Healthcare System, and she also leads the Environmental Health Clinic at VA Long Beach Healthcare System.
Berenji discusses her work with veterans, including exposure assessments for veterans concerning Agent Orange and Open Burn Pits. Additionally, she explains the field of informatics as it applies to healthcare. Berenji shares her interest in clinical informatics and emphasizes the importance of digital tool proficiency for the future leaders of healthcare.
As the vice chair of the Health Informatics section of the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Berenji talks about the section's efforts to advance clinical informatics in occupational and environmental medicine.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

Neil Baum, MD, is a renowned leader in medical practice marketing and a pioneer in the field, having authored the first textbook on the subject in the 1990s. Today, Baum continues to share his knowledge through writing, lectures, and consulting on healthcare practice marketing. He has written a new book, Medicine is a Practice: The Rules for Healthcare Marketing.
Baum, a practicing physician based in New Orleans, Louisiana, draws from real-world examples that have proven successful in his own healthcare practice. His mission is to aid physicians and medical practice administrators in creating the productive and profitable practice they have always envisioned.
In this interview with host Mike Sacopulos, Baum shares tried-and-tested suggestions for enhancing relationships with existing patients and attracting new patients to the practice. As a bonus, Baum ends the interview with three hints for new physicians as they build their careers in medicine.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org.

Healthcare is fundamentally a scientific pursuit, from clinical skills to cutting-edge diagnostic testing. Medicine is also an art, and art plays a vital role in the success of patient care. Once such element of art is where healthcare is delivered. Physical structures can affect a patient’s experiences and outcomes. On this topic, SoundPractice host Mike Sacopulos interviews Sharon Woodworth.
Sharon Woodworth, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, EDAC, ACHA, is the healthcare sector leader of HED, a national integrated architecture and engineering firm with more than 400 employees and elite clients such as USC, the VA Medical Center, and the U.S. State Department. Her sector specializes in designing innovative healthcare centers for efficient patient care.
Woodworth’s career path that led to architecture is an inspiring one, and she is known for driving change in operations and care through design. Hear her thoughts on design of outpatient facilities, designing to retain healthcare providers, how design can support “lean” operational models for staff, and trends for the future.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

The word Catholic is often capitalized and used in reference to the religious denomination. It may also be an adjective meaning comprehensive or universal. On this episode of SoundPractice we will be discussing the term in both of its definitions.
The Catholic Church and Its Hospitals: A Marriage Made in Heaven? is a new book extensively researched and written by Patricia Gabow, MD, MACP, former CEO of Denver General Hospital. The Foreword of the book is by Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP.
Hear about the role of the bishops and the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) in policy making for the Catholic health system. We also discuss surprising statistics about the extent, reach, and influence of Catholic Healthcare in terms of the number of beds and hospitals. From small hospitals built by nuns and nurses to now having four out of the ten largest healthcare systems in the United States being Catholic systems.
There is another side to the story. Patients may not understand that certain reproductive care or end-of-life care are not available to them in a Catholic health system. Physicians who work in these systems may not understand the reach and influence of the ERDs. We will be exploring this issue in depth. In Gabow’s book, she provides a section on considerations for the Catholic health system’s return to mission fidelity.
Join us for this insightful and thought-provoking discussion on the Catholic Church and its hospitals.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

At first blush the ideas of servants and leaders seem distinct, even mutually exclusive. How could an individual be a servant and a leader simultaneously? Perhaps the initial reaction to the juxtaposition of servant and leader is the issue. When approached from the correct perspective, the contradiction fades and connections come into focus.
David M. Zechman, BSE, MPA, president of The Zechman Group, LLC, is a former hospital system president and CEO and is currently an executive coach and author of Driven by Compassion – 8 Values for Successful Servant Leaders.
Zechman has spent considerable time on servants, leaders, and healthcare. He helps us to uncover leadership opportunities.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org

In this episode of AAPL's SoundPractice podcast, Mike Sacopulos interviews William MacDonald, the founder of My Financial Coach. MacDonald has an extensive background in executive compensation and benefit consulting and has founded several leading organizations in this field.
Sacopulos and MacDonald discuss the areas covered by certified financial planners when working with clients, including retirement planning, tax planning, estate planning, and investment management. They also discuss the innovative solutions and strategies offered by My Financial Coach's subject matter experts and the ways in which clients are using the company's technology platform.
The conversation then turns to the challenges faced by physicians in managing their personal finances, including student loan debt, managing cash flow, and planning for retirement. MacDonald continues the discussion with the importance of building employee benefits for both physicians and all employees and shares some successful strategies he has seen in this area.
Sacopulos and MacDonald also discuss the alliance between AAPL and My Financial Coach, and MacDonald shares his motivation for creating the company. He emphasizes the importance of providing personalized financial coaching to clients and helping them achieve their financial goals.
Learn more about the American Association for Physician Leadership at www.physicianleaders.org