Deciding to expand your practice, either by acquisition or starting new, is an exciting time. But, adding new staff, physicians, and equity partners can come with a handful of problems. On this episode of Inside Reproductive Health, Griffin Jones, CEO of Fertility Bridge, talks to Dr. Michael Levy, IVF Director and President of Shady Grove Fertility. Shady Grove Fertility is the largest fertility group in America and has over 25 equity partners and almost 1000 employees. Griffin and Dr. Levy discuss the implication of having such a large staff base and just how they manage it, all while keeping the patient at the forefront of their culture.
34 - How At Risk Are You as a Physician? Mitigating Liability In Your Practice: An Interview with Dr. Steven Katz
A malpractice case can be the end of an REI practice, and with IVF errors often making it into the news, the pressure to be perfect is high. Thankfully, technology aimed to reduce errors has grown. On this episode, Griffin talks to Dr. Stephen Katz, CEO and Founder of REI Protect, a company formed to provide risk management services and coverage for REI practices across the country. They discuss what can go wrong in an office or IVF lab, and, more importantly, how to protect your practice from errors.
32 - Marianne Kreiner - Remote Jobs Are on the Rise: Can REI Clinics Follow Suit Successfully
Working from home has become more and more prevalent across all industries and is starting to catch on in the field of fertility. But how can working from home be beneficial and successful for both employee and employer? On this episode, Griffin Jones talks to Marianne Kreiner, Chief Human Resources Office at Shady Grove Fertility. Together, they discuss how implementing telecommuting in your office can boost employee retention, the importance of building culture with those who work from home, and how to appropriately set up telecommuting employees while following labor regulations.
29 - What is shifting the entrepreneurial landscape for incoming REIs? Rhonda Zwingerman, MD
In this episode, Griffin hosts Dr. Rhonda Zwingerman, a fellow OB-GYN and REI at the Royal Surgeons of Canada and an assistant professor of OB-GYN at the University of Toronto. Jones and Dr. Zwingerman talk about the factors shifting the entrepreneurial landscape for incoming REIs including the funding of fertility treatments, the recruiting of REIs, and the risks involved. Tune in to find out more!
27 - Setting the Vision for Your Practice with Intentional Culture. An Interview with Angie Beltsos, MD
In this episode, Griffin Jones hosts Dr. Angeline Beltsos, CEO and Medical Director of Vios Fertility Institute as well as the founder of Midwest Reproductive Symposium International (MRSi). In the competitive climate of large fertility networks, Dr. Beltsos’ independent fertility center, Vios Fertility, has thrived, largely in part to implementing an intentional culture of transparency. Dr. Beltos discusses how Vios is built on three important pillars: an unparalleled patient experience, early scientific adaptation, and robust and dynamic culture that starts at the head of the team and trickles down.
25 - Buy-in: Necessary for Successful Implementation of an EMR System? An Interview with Nicole Koczanowicz
In this episode, Griffin Jones hosts Nicole Koczanowicz, the Vice President of Artisan Medical Solutions. Koczanowicz’s focus on adoption and adaptation of Artisan’s EMR program to every practice has set Artisan apart. Jones and Koczanowicz have an honest conversation about the delicate dance between a practice fully adopting a necessary change, to the EMR team adapting to the individual needs and workflow of each practice. After all, Wall Street and Silicon Valley both want your patients, but there is a plan, if you are willing to take action.
24 - Defined Expectations: Are They Key to a 5-Star Experience for REI Patients? An Interview with Lisa Duran
In this episode, host Griffin Jones chats with Lisa Duran, the Chief Experience Officer for the Inception Fertility Network. Duran’s extensive experience in team-focused patient experience programs has led her to help clinics implement programs that impact the way patients and staff alike respond to the clinic. Jones and Duran discuss the changes in the field and how clinics can differentiate by creating a truly customized experience for patients.
23 - Reducing Third-Party Legal Risk in an Era of Limited Anonymity. An Interview with Melissa Brissman
In this episode, host Griffin Jones speaks to Melissa Brissman, an experienced attorney specializing in reproductive law. In addition to practicing law with a focus on reproduction for the last 21 years, Brissman also acted as her own attorney as she had twin sons and a daughter via gestational carrier. An advisor to a variety of organizations and an experienced keynote speaker, Brissman was the 2017 Advocacy Award recipient from Path to Parenthood. Today, Jones and Brissman discuss the differences between a contract and consent, the changes coming to fruition thanks to recent laws, and more.
16 - What Does Wall Street Want with the Fertility Field? An Interview with David Sable, MD
Today, Griffin Jones spoke to Dr. David Sable, who directs healthcare and life science investing for the Special Situations Fund in addition to acting as the portfolio manager for the Special Situations Life Sciences Fund and the Life Sciences Innovation Venture Fund. Dr. Sable’s deep background in reproductive medicine and his interest in entrepreneurship led to a fascinating discussion about the future of reproductive endocrinology and IVF, with a focus on the fear of a private equity takeover and the realities of the large population of underserved people experiencing infertility in America today.
15 - Are Millennials Ruining the Field of Fertility? An Interview with Hannah Johnson
In this episode, Griffin speaks to Hannah Johnson, Director of Operations for Vios Fertility Institute, which has branches in Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. With a deep background in practice management, Hannah’s the ideal candidate to discuss the joys and challenges that come with working with millennials, as employees and as patients. Hannah appreciates their passionate approach to their work and recognizes that whether we like it or not, practices have to adapt their processes to suit millennials.
9 - Setting Expectations between Practice Owners and New Doctors: An Interview with Holly Hutchison
In this episode, Griffin talks to Holly Hutchison. Holly and her brother, Dr. Scott Hutchison, operate Reproductive Health Center in Tucson, Arizona. Holly and Griffin discuss the importance of establishing key performance indicators to ensure that partnerships begin successfully and go the distance. Additionally, Holly and Griffin tackle the importance quality of life plays in their practice and the need to establish boundaries related to that early in a partnership.
8 - How Can We Set Our REI Nurses Up for Success? An Interview with Monica Moore
In this episode, Griffin spoke with Monica Moore, a former nurse practitioner who currently consults with fertility practices around the globe from her home base in Florida. They discussed the topic of nursing staff retention, how to prevent burnout, and the importance of emphasizing employee engagement.
7 - Does Selling Your REI Practice Help Patients or Limit Care with Dr. John Storment
In this episode, Griffin talks to Dr. John Storment, a successful REI practicing in Louisiana. Dr. Storment talks about the potential pitfalls of accepting an offer from a private equity group, and how that can impact the way that you practice, as well as the importance of understanding the business side of your medical practice.
5 - The Use of Social Media Amongst REs: An Interview with Dr. Natalie Crawford
In this episode, Griffin talks to Dr. Natalie Crawford, an accomplished REI practicing in Austin, TX. Dr. Crawford has successfully utilized Instagram as a tool for education as well as marketing; today, she has tens of thousands of followers who turn to her for information and connection. Griffin and Dr. Crawford speak about the role social media plays in medicine, and the ways that physicians can use social media to create a connection with patients and prospects alike.
3 - Is Reproductive Health a Field or an Industry? An Interview with Rebecca Flick
In this episode, Griffin talks to Rebecca Flick, Vice Presidents of Communications and Programs for Resolve, the national infertility association. They discuss how the treatment of IVF and infertility as an industry has hurt patient advocacy and the ability to give access to people who may not have the insurance or out of pocket ability to go through infertility treatments. Rebecca explains how they are trying to change the internal viewing of fertility treatments by lawmakers and employers as a optional medical practice to one that anyone should be able to have access to. Griffin and Rebecca then continue to speak about how being a part of Resolve not only allows businesses to further influence the fertility community, but to give back to it as well.
2 - Who’s Responsible for Lowering the Cost of IVF? An Interview with Dr. Kiltz
In this episode, Griffin talks with Dr. Robert Kiltz, the founder and director of the first successful IVF center in Central New York, CNY Fertility Center. Griffin and Dr. Kiltz discuss the topic of who is really responsible for lowering the cost of fertility treatments. They discuss whether the responsibility falls on the insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical device, hardware and software companies, or the providers themselves. They then discuss Dr. Kiltz’s methods of becoming a successful fertility specialist that offers a lower cost treatment plan, creating a new market with new levels of accessibility and affordability.
Four Reasons the Tech Revolution Has Disrupted Fertility, and Why Practice Owners are Frustrated
CHANGING TECHNOLOGY
For some IVF centers, the change has already done them in. For others, it is the level playing field needed to thrive against massively funded competitors. No phenomenon presents a greater threat, nor a greater opportunity to today’s fertility centers than the technological revolution through which our society is living.
So far, we've deeply explored the four major implications of the following axiom: today's fertility practice is no longer a small, independent healthcare clinic, but an entrepreneurial venture. We talked about business structure, strategy and vision, and accelerated competition. These three tenets pale in comparison to our society’s rapidly changing technological and social behavior.
The Natural Route
My husband, Colby, and I received our infertility diagnosis 6 years ago, in April of 2012. As most couples who have been diagnosed with infertility would understand and agree, we were completely caught off guard. You get married and you have kids, right? Well for 1 in 8 couples this is not the case and we happen to fall into that statistic. This diagnosis came quickly and although we were so thankful to find out what we were up against sooner, rather than later, it was still devastating. What we thought was just routine tests before we started our family, turned out to be much different as we were diagnosed with both female and male fertility.
The Battle for the IVF Market: 5 Wall Street backed companies vs. private practice
Multi-million dollar private equity firms offer fertility practices an ultimatum: sell part of their practice, or have their market-share siphoned away.
Major firms spend hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide because they are in a race to consolidate as much of the fragmented IVF market as they can. This is only to speak of companies who own and operate networks of fertility clinics. In parallel, in 2017, PitchBook tallied more than $178 million invested into startups developing fertility products. In our series about fertility practices’ tectonic shift from small clinic to entrepreneurial venture, we’ve detailed the challenges that independent fertility practices face that their big new competitors don’t. So who are these new titans, and what are they up to?
A New Vision and Different Strategy for IVF Centers to Thrive Beyond 2018
We might criticize REI fellows for not wanting to take over existing IVF practices, but they are making the same decision that current practice owners have made for decades. They are deciding to be doctors and not CEOs. At the time, starting an independent practice didn’t mean launching a commercial enterprise. The difference is that new doctors know they can’t get away with that today.