Planning Services - Business Plans      Other Planning Services | Request a Proposal
.....................................................................................................

Strategic Planning Services

The Solution | The Process | The Timing

Planning is never easy, but always valuable. Our unique and refined approach has proven itself time and time again to save physicians time, money, frustration and disappointment.

The Purposes of Strategic Planning

What distinguishes the best-performing medical groups from the rest?

Formal strategic planning, according to this excerpt from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Performance and Practices of Successful Medical Group Practices, Survey 1999:

• Monitoring market changes which will affect demand for services

• Establishing market share goals for each practice site

• Assessing the organization’s size (number of physicians) and service mix (physician specialties) at least annually

• Reducing the average cost per patient procedure within the boundaries established by quality of care and patient satisfaction

• Having a specific methodology to evaluate needs for new services and clinical locations

• Establishing minimum usage thresholds per branch or satellite facility (recognizing that some sites may need to be considered as loss leaders)

If formal strategic planning is so valuable, why is it so difficult for medical groups?

I think there are several reasons:

• Physicians and managers have other pressing issues to attend to. Strategic planning doesn’t often gain attention until a crisis occurs.

• It is hard work that requires objectivity and takes physicians out of their comfort zone.

• External forces seem too great to impact, leading to a fatalistic approach to planning.

• Specialized information, skills, and visionary intuition are required to plan well.

Back to Top

The Solution

The Hekman Group is poised to be your strategic planning partner. As an extension of the group’s leadership, we bring information and perspectives to your discussions that represent a breadth and depth of experience rarely found in the field of medical management. No one can know your business like you do, and no consultant can form your strategy for you and expect it to be successful. That is why we concentrate on asking the right questions, focusing your research, drawing your best ideas to the forefront, and articulating them in ways that can make a difference for your business. 

We bring an efficient but disciplined approach to strategic planning, designed to minimize disruption to the practice, and to maximize the merged power of fresh ideas and group consensus. Our unique approach is based on well-researched theory and experience with over 200 medical groups nationwide.

Back to Top

The Process 

The three-stage process of strategic planning is straightforward, practical and effective:

1. First, we help you articulate who you are as an organization – your unifying purposes, ambitions and values. With serious dialogue, we help you make sure that your assumptions about these critical characteristics of your identity are in alignment, and that the foundation for decisions about your future is solid. We conclude this stage with a written mission, vision and values statement that represents the group’s core agreement.

2. Next, we research your market and your capabilities as an organization, and lead you in brainstorming how to converge your interests and your opportunities in the most powerful manner. We lead you through the investigation of at least eight critical questions every business should be asking itself, and make sure the answers you develop are realistic and honest. Those answers form the goals that you establish for your organization, and are further delineated into a work plan that spells out what actions must be taken, by whom, and by what deadlines. These goals, together with the researched documentation and the work plan, form the written strategic plan to guide your group’s future decisions.

3. Finally, we review the progress on your work plan with regularity over a period of a multi-year agreement, reconvening the group at least annually to revisit the market forces that might reshape your strategies and tactics, adjust your internal relationships as necessary for optimal functioning, and making sure that you are achieving the results that were intended.

Back to Top

The Timing

Developing a strategic plan can be a little like preparing a special meal. The courses, ingredients, spices and timing may vary with each situation, but the outcome is consistently and predictably memorable. At a minimum, medical groups can expect the process to include:

• Annual site visits

• Annual updates of the workplan

• Periodic analyses of production trends

• Progressive updates based on changes in market conditions and internal dynamics

We specifically encourage practices to commit to a three-year relationship to make sure the strategies prove to be sound, and to develop modifications and refinements to enhance their impact.

Why Choose The Hekman Group?
Six out of ten of our strategic planning clients profited by an average of 35% over two years by working with us. 

Results. The Bottom Line. Professional satisfaction. Making a difference. There are lots of ways to measure results - more time - more money.  We think you should have it all. It is not unusual for our clients to see a three-fold return (or more) on their investment in consulting services in one year, in cash. But they usually thank us more profusely for what we did for their lives in other ways like increased professional satisfaction, the ability to spend more time with family, the fulfillment of making a difference in someone's life.

We wouldn't have it any other way. That's why we only accept clients we know we can help a great deal, and we monitor their progress to make sure they're successful. You're welcome to call us for free to discern if we're a good fit. We could also tell you the stories of delighted clients, but it's more interesting to hear it directly from them... 

"Our confidence in Ken Hekman continues to this day because he continually adds value to the business decisions of both the board and the management staff."

"I have continually appreciated your forthrightness, your integrity and your motivation. I learned a lot from you in your months of serving us, and feel I have gained much insight not only in operational issues, but into myself as well."

"Ken Hekman is a man with significant discernment and insight, and was able to quickly and accurately determine some of the deeper root issues affecting our future."

"Although there are many personal characteristics which have led to this fine relationship, I would rank your personal integrity and trustworthiness as your foremost qualities. We have also been impressed with your insight and creativity, resulting in your high level of medical management ingenuity."

"Ken demonstrated a depth of insight in conducting our evaluation unrivaled in our experience. He helped us look at our business with a realistic view."

(Their identities are protected, just like we’ll do for your practice, but we have plenty of satisfied and delighted clients who are willing to share their experiences if you wish to explore them further.)

Here are a few more qualifications:

• Author of three books, Buying, Selling & Merging a Medical Practice, Physician Driven Health Plans, and Physician Compensation, all published by McGraw-Hill

• Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives

• MBA, Grand Valley State University

• Served thousands of physicians in more than 300 medical practices worldwide for more than 20 years

• Serves as international medical group strategist in Romania, Kyrgyzstan, Honduras and other developing countries

• Instrumental in several business “turnarounds” for medical practices
  

Back to Top