As senior vice president of health systems for Health Inventures in Broomfield, Colo., Dennis Martin is tasked with building health system relationships and helping organizations form market plans to increase their share in outpatient surgery, which he says can dwindle away after years of neglect to physician relationships.
For organizations to build positive, fruitful relationships with their physicians, Mr. Martin recommends appointing a key person to focus specifically on physician relationships. "Often hospitals set direction without really taking into account physicians' viewpoints and needs financially and clinically," he says. "Some hospitals are doing well by appointing someone who can be objective but also listen well to the stories that physicians bring them."
He says many hospitals and surgery centers let business dwindle because they don't keep their finger on the pulse of the community. "They may find that later in life, those relationships are desired again, but they may be too late," he says.
Mr. Martin began his career in the healthcare industry in the mid-80s as a project architect and designer for Samborn, Stekette, Otis and Evans. He later joined Zirkle, Lee and Associates as a consultant and worked for Horizon Health Systems when the company was reorganized as vice president and treasurer. From 1992-1995, he served as vice president of development for Surgical Partners of America.
Mr. Martin says he prioritizes the specific needs of an organization in building relationships between physicians and health systems.
"We put a lot of time into understanding our deals up front and what they should become," he says. "We also really try to understand the physicians down to a single user level, and we try to set up a really successful governance structure, so we have good leadership we can work with as we move into the project."
It makes sense, then, that his favorite part of the job is fostering those positive relationships. "I like getting to know the personalities involved and working collaboratively to come up with the best solution with client groups in physicians," he says. "We want everyone to feel they've had a big part in forming a successful organization."
Learn more about Health Inventures.
Read more on notable surgery center leaders:
-ASC Leader to Know: Dr. Michael Bukstein of Northeast Missouri Ambulatory Surgery Center
-ASC Leader to Know: Dr. John Burke, CEO of AAAHC
For organizations to build positive, fruitful relationships with their physicians, Mr. Martin recommends appointing a key person to focus specifically on physician relationships. "Often hospitals set direction without really taking into account physicians' viewpoints and needs financially and clinically," he says. "Some hospitals are doing well by appointing someone who can be objective but also listen well to the stories that physicians bring them."
He says many hospitals and surgery centers let business dwindle because they don't keep their finger on the pulse of the community. "They may find that later in life, those relationships are desired again, but they may be too late," he says.
Mr. Martin began his career in the healthcare industry in the mid-80s as a project architect and designer for Samborn, Stekette, Otis and Evans. He later joined Zirkle, Lee and Associates as a consultant and worked for Horizon Health Systems when the company was reorganized as vice president and treasurer. From 1992-1995, he served as vice president of development for Surgical Partners of America.
Mr. Martin says he prioritizes the specific needs of an organization in building relationships between physicians and health systems.
"We put a lot of time into understanding our deals up front and what they should become," he says. "We also really try to understand the physicians down to a single user level, and we try to set up a really successful governance structure, so we have good leadership we can work with as we move into the project."
It makes sense, then, that his favorite part of the job is fostering those positive relationships. "I like getting to know the personalities involved and working collaboratively to come up with the best solution with client groups in physicians," he says. "We want everyone to feel they've had a big part in forming a successful organization."
Learn more about Health Inventures.
Read more on notable surgery center leaders:
-ASC Leader to Know: Dr. Michael Bukstein of Northeast Missouri Ambulatory Surgery Center
-ASC Leader to Know: Dr. John Burke, CEO of AAAHC