HealthCare Business Education - Audiology: Professional Reviews

"Nearly 30 years ago I started my first private practice in Audiology knowing virtually nothing about business. I had to learn everything the hard way – trial and error, or more accurately, profit and loss! Fortunately the mistakes did not cost me my business because at the time there were few of us in private practice and relatively little competition. That has all changed now, and with the competitive business climate, equipment costs, regulatory requirements, space and upfitting costs, it has become essential to understand what you are doing to avoid being a business casualty. Even most of our new Au.D. programs barely touch upon the needed skills after 4 years of training! This is why the Health Care Business Education Program for Audiology is so exciting. It offers the business skills any audiology entrepreneur must have in a distance-learning format that does not involve having to take time away from one’s work to acquire them, and many of these skill sets are taught by professional peers that have had to learn them the hard way.

"In the 21st century marketplace, you cannot own or manage a successful business with only the abbreviated knowledge and tools provided in today’s’ AuD. or Masters programs. Even the best AuD programs have limited, at best, business training. Understandably, given time and financial constraints, their focus is to make you strong clinicians, not strong business people. Audiologists, who strive to be business leaders in their communities, need the type of practical business training typically only taught in traditional undergraduate or MBA business programs.

Healthcare Business Education is finally providing audiologists, who are interested in learning the skills needed to take their businesses to the next level, a comprehensive business program specifically designed for the special requirements of the hearing healthcare industry. This type of training has been unheard of in this industry."

I started my private practice in 1982 after attending only a two-day seminar on “How To Establish and Succeed in an Audiologic Private Practice”. At that time, with the exception of the ADA, business education for audiologists was almost non-existent. Early on, I flew by the seat of my pants, and it was only with the grace of God that I was able to draw a monthly salary! During the beginning years of my practice, I had to spend thousands of dollars to get advice and learn from various attorneys, accountants, and marketing specialists so I could maintain and grow my practice. Back then; there was not much competition. Today, competition is fierce. The HealthCare Business Education – Audiology program is comprehensive, self-contained, and concentrated in a one-year package that is focused on providing audiologists with a solid business foundation and advanced business skills for successfully operating an autonomous audiology practice. "

"My business orientation is practical and results driven. Although I have certainly worked long hours, I believe in working smart, not hard. It is essential you do what you are passionate about and love what you do. A huge private practice is not for every audiologist, yet every audiologist should at least consider private practice and what it has to offer. To be successful, it is essential you understand how to tailor a practice to meet both your customers' needs and your individual needs. My hope is that HealthCare Business Education – Audiology will provide some of the tools necessary for you to identify your needs, to be realistic about private practice, and to forge ahead in your career.

"Fundamentally, I am a teacher and believe in the value of lifelong continued education. Any professional in today's marketplace cannot afford to stop learning if they want to grow and thrive. Without continued learning, there is no career development. In a rapidly changing marketplace such as we find ourselves today, continued career development and learning have never been more needed or necessary in order to make empowered career decisions. Education has been a wonderful networking tool for me (and my firm) and it has enabled me to expand my business to serve even more clients. Educated clients are better clients. They are more grounded in the fundamentals of why they do what they do and are easier for me to help. HealthCare Business Education - Audiology is a much needed opportunity for gaining the knowledge and tools of business. This program enables participants to continue the all important skill of lifelong learning. I believe this program will help you grow your career and serve to keep you ahead of the inevitable marketplace upheavals that occur regularly today.

"Health care does not arise and is not delivered in a vacuum. Care is provided in the context of legal and business considerations that impact our ability to advocate best for our patients. Knowledge of the principles of law and business therefore are critically important to provide the best care for patients. It is therefore incumbent upon those who seek to provide effective and appropriate care to patients for their careers to obtain and continue their education in these areas. These considerations grow in importance each day, as the population ages and the health care dollar is increasingly stretched.

"In an ever more competitive environment, formal business education for audiologists will be critically important. Well honed business skills will drive successful audiology practices in the future. This is an opportunity for audiologists to gain a competitive edge.

"This program offers to help audiologists learn and improve their hands-on small business skills. The tailored content of these classes appears intended to help audiologists succeed in the modern health care world, where every strategy for success must be used and used well.

"I know of several examples of very good and capable audiologists who could not continue their practices because of financial difficulties. There may have been external forces such a “roll-over” by a physician group who decided to suddenly terminate a long-standing agreement; new competition in the community; or more insidious factors that created debt and reduced income to their practices. This simply should not happen to well-trained professionals.

The fact is that these business failures could have been prevented with good planning and smart business behavior. For all of us, whether in private practice, as employees of others, or supporting a group practice, good business training makes good sense. Unfortunately, our initial and post degree training typically does not provide us with the information that is needed to be effective in the management of our business affairs. Indeed, for many of us with “old school” training, some of what we learned was counter-productive from a business standpoint.