It was a Fourth of July celebration I will never forget.

I was honored to be invited to a friend’s naturalization ceremony. He came to the US as an adult to live the American dream. I witnessed the long hours he invested learning what he needed to know to become an engaged American citizen. 

On a warm July Fourth, I joined thousands of people who cheered as their loved ones and friends said the Pledge of Allegiance as US citizens for the first time. 

Gary Locke congratulated the new Americans and told his story.  A hundred years earlier, his grandfather left China on a steamboat to work as a houseboy for an American family in Washington State. His grandfather washed dishes, gardened and swept floors in exchange for English lessons.

And a hundred years later, this man's grandson was sworn in as the Governor of the State of Washington. Governor Locke's then home--the Governor’s mansion-- is one mile from the house where his grandfather worked. He noted that it took his family one hundred years to travel one hundred yards.

That July 4th I celebrated the American Dream. I understood viscerally that we are blessed to live in this land of opportunity.  

In my home we have a saying, "For any problem, there is a solution." Sometimes the problems seem daunting. Sometimes the solutions are not easy to find. That's when I call on my belief in the American Dream.

On April 1, 2020 a dozen anesthesiology resident physicians from Massachusetts General Hospital kicked off an audacious public challenge to design a ventilator that could address the shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Just three months and more than 200 submissions later, a team of engineering alumnae, staff and faculty from Smith College won the competition. 

Smith College Engineering Professor Susannah Howe said, “To a person, we came into this not knowing anything about ventilators. In two months we went from knowing nothing to having a functional prototype. That’s just crazy."
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That's the crazy American Dream.

Yes, on July 4th, 2020 we face big challenges. We're all also invited into our greatness so that one day we can declare independence from the things that keep us apart from each other --and from each of our dreams.

Have a safe and happy 4th!

You may reproduce this blog with the following by line:
© 2020. Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps businesses acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians run more successful practices. Contact her at (425) 451-3777.

I could feel the frustration of the financial advisor who asked, "Why is it so hard to engage doctors?"

You might have created your own answers to this question. "They're too busy." "They're too distracted." "They think they have it covered."

From my perspective the main reason that financial advisors have such difficulty engaging doctors in conversation is that they fail to understand what doctors value, how doctors think and who influences their choices.

If you can use the momentum of doctors' natural behavior, you can engage in "marketing martial arts."

Understand the 10 Laws of Physician Engagement. They help you predict doctors' likely reaction to your action.

Once you align your actions with the 10 Laws of Physician Engagement, I think you will find you get much different outcomes.  

Click here to download a pdf with the 10 Laws of Physician Engagement.

Here's the first module of the Cracking the Physician Code Master Class that includes the 10 Laws.  

How well are you aligning yourself with the 10 Laws?

The American College of Surgeons' (ACS) Practice Protection Committee continues to provide leadership.  Thought you would be interested in the Economic Survival Strategies in the COVID World report released yesterday.

This document paints a stark financial reality for physicians.

Why release this report?  Even though physicians and dentists have opened their doors to elective medical care, their patient volumes--and revenue--have not rebounded as robustly as hoped. A recent study shows that outpatients visits, while up from April, are still at about 60%.

Physicians are fortunate.  Unlike many small business that will not survive the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, patients will continue to have the need for healthcare services. 

There is no question that elective medical/surgical cases will resume; the big question is WHEN. 

The Practice Protection Committee recommends survival strategies NOW that include:
1. Remaining calm.
2. Reassessing priorities.
3. Seeking the advice of professionals--like YOU!

Here are three action steps you can take:
1. Distribute the ACS report to your list of doctor prospects and clients. Identify yourself as a physician-friendly financial advisor committed to serving the doctors who serve the community.

2. Join a watch party to access the webinar update from the American College of Surgeons' Practice Protection Committee Wednesday, June 3rd at 7 PM Central.  Click here to register to join a watch party. Space is limited, so register now. 

3. Get listed as a physician-friendly financial advisor.  I am a Fellow fo the American College of Surgeons.  I will be approaching the Practice Protection Committee and informing them that I have groomed a community of financial services professionals committed to serving the needs of physicians. If you have been through the Cracking the Physician Code training and /or you have been my private coaching client, you are eligible to be included in my directory of physician-friendly financial advisors. If you are interested in being listed, please drop us an email at directory@targetingdoctors.com.

If you are new to the community, I invite you to enroll in the Cracking the Physician Code Master Class Training  so that you, too, can be eligible to be included in the directory. This Master Class is available as a home-study course; however, based on multiple requests, I will be offering a second LIVE session beginning Monday, June 8th, 2020. 

We WILL get through this together.

© 2020. Vicki Rackner MD.  All rights reserved.  You may reproduce this blog post with the following by-line:
Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps financial advisors acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians run more successful practices. Contact her at (425) 451-3777.
​

Yesterday Medscape released its annual Physician Compensation Report for 2020. The data collected between October 2019 and February 2020 showed an optimistic  picture of revenue growth since 2019.

However, life in the pre-COVID world feels like ancient history.  

In fact, the Medscape slide deck begins with a more sobering financial reality curated from other organizations, including data from the MGMA.  Impacts of COVID-19 include:

• Practices reporting a 55% decrease in revenue and 60% decrease in patient volumes.
• Hospitals and clinical groups implementing furloughs, pay cuts and layoffs.
• 9% of independent medical practices reporting that they have closed--at least temporarily.

In other words, the data confirms what you have been hearing in this community: physicians are experiencing acute financial pain.  

What does this mean for you? 

These challenges represent unprecedented opportunities for you. Physicians want and need your help.

If you have a lead generation/ nurture system for successfully engaging physicians, use it! Physicians will be open to your value in a way they have never been before.  

If you do NOT have a system that gives you reliable, repeatable results, I invite you to enroll in the  Cracking the Physician Code Master Course that begins Monday May 18th, 2020.  It's designed to help you set up proven systems to accelerate your practice growth by acquiring more doctor clients. Plus you can enjoy the added rewards of knowing that you are helping the physicians and dentists who are risking their lives to serve your community.  

If you have been on the fence about working with physicians, this is your time.

​Click here to learn more about the Cracking the Physician Code Master Course and reserve your spot.. 

How will physicians whose are not delivering "elective medical care" meet their ongoing expenses?

In addition to loans and advance payments through the SBA and CMS, there may be flexibility available through the Internal Revenue Service that could temporarily free operating capital or even offset prior years’ profits with losses caused by COVID-19.

Here are some questions you and your doctor clients can explore ( from the American College of Surgeons):

• Is my practice eligible for the employee retention tax credit? This is a refundable Social Security tax credit equal to 50 percent of qualified employee wages (up to $10,000 of wages for each employee); however, small businesses that take SBA loans like those made available by the PPP are not eligible. 
• Does it make sense for me to defer the Social Security portion of employer payroll taxes owed for the period between March 27, 2020 and December 31, 2020? (Note that the deferred amount must be repaid, with 50 percent of the deferred amount due by December 31, 2021, and the remainder to be paid by December 31, 2022.)
• Do any of the modifications of Net Operating Loss rules (such as allowing them to offset 100 percent of taxable income or to be carried back for five years) apply to my practice?
• Can I benefit from the temporary increase of the business interest expense limitation to 50 percent of adjustable taxable income for tax years 2019 and 2020?
• Does my practice have excess business losses for tax years 2018, 2019, and 2020 that can be used due to the suspension of limitations for pass-through entities and sole proprietorships?
• Can I claim 100 percent bonus depreciation for real estate and leasehold improvements placed in service after 2017?
• Are there other less common flexibilities such as greater limits on charitable deductions, alternative minimum tax credit refunds, or funding of defined benefit pensions that might apply to my situation?

We're at another inflection point in the COVID pandemic. In many communities, physicians and dentists are gearing up to return to elective cases.

This is a great time to pick up the phone and see how your doctor prospects and clients are doing.

Here are some questions you can bring to them:

General Questions:

• How are you and your family doing?
• How are you keeping yourselves safe and healthy?
• What do you miss most?
• What is your biggest challenge today? This should not be your first question; however, it may be the most important one. Every challenge is an opportunity for your to deliver value.

As Dr. Francis Peabody said, "For the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient." Show your doctor prospects and clients you care by posing these questions. 

 Professional Questions:

• What do you think your clinical calendar will look like in the next 30 days?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, what is your level of concern about meeting your monthly expenses?
• Are there any professional pivots you are contemplating?
• If you had a magic wand, what clinical problem would you like solved?
• Is there any way I might help you navigate the federal relief programs?

My guess is that physicians will still be most concerned about meeting their current financial needs; however, you may find that individual doctors are interested in addressing retirement planning.  

Networking Questions:

• What medical associations have offered leadership?
• What publications are you reading?
• What social media platforms are you frequenting?
• What questions are you googling?

These questions will help you identify platforms that could potentially sponsor a presentation you make, publish tips you might develop or distribute your "yummy treats"

Listen empathically.
Doctors' answers to these questions can guide your marketing efforts over the next few months. 

Stay safe and strong,  
Dr. Vicki

PS Would you like to acquire more doctor clients?  For the past decade we have offered our signature Cracking the Physician Code Course.  Participants take away a soup-to-nuts blueprint to accelerate their growth by acquiring more doctor clients.

We have completed updated the course content to reflect our current COVID world. We call it the Cracking the Physician Code Master Course.  

Whether you're a already working with doctor clients or you're just jumping into the medical market, you will take away actionable ideas to take your business to the next level of success.

We will begin recording the new content Monday, May 18th, 2020.  If you enroll this week, you get a bonus: you can join the daily  live sessions and gain access to live coaching.

Click here to learn more. 

© 2020. Vicki Rackner MD.  All rights reserved.  You may reproduce this blog post with the following by-line:
Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps financial advisors acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians run more successful practices. Contact her at (425) 451-3777.

Would you like to engage more doctor prospects through medical associations? This webinar offers you some tips.

​Click here to download a PDF of the slides.