DO DOCTORS NEED BUSINESS SKILLS TO SURVIVE IN THE FUTURE?
The changing reality of Medicine
The different classrooms of various medical colleges and schools teach the art of treating and caring for a human body. But rarely teach the skills to manage a clinical budget, lead a team or build a sustainable practice. These skills are becoming just as necessary just as clinical practice. The increasing expectations of patients, growing competitions and corporatization of healthcare have changed the means to run a clinical practice. Brilliant clinicians without the proper management skills can still run a practice which might struggle financially.
Business skills for Doctors
There is a gap between medical training and real-world practice. The skills that one needs beyond clinical expertise includes but not limited to:
a. Financial Management : Budgets, revenue generation, billing cycle
b. Operation and Team Management “ Leadership and operational efficiency to handle high volume procedure, people and patients
c. Marketing Management : Personal branding is necessary where patients search for doctors on Google
None of these taught in the classrooms and beds of a medical institution but they determine the survival of any practice.
What numbers say?
The demand for professionals who combine medical knowledge with business management skills is growing rapidly across the world. As per data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Medical and Health Service Managers earned a median annual salary of approximately $117,960 [1], which is significantly higher than the median annual salary of $80,820[2] for Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers in the year 2024.
The rise of Dual degrees: MD/MBA and MD/MHA
The demands of dual qualified medical professional like MBA or MHA are increasing due to their recognition that a healthcare leadership requires both clinical and business acumen.
To bridge the gap, dual degrees like MD/MBA (Penn/Wharton, Harvard, NYU, Stanford) and MD/MHA (Ohio State, Maryland, Harvard) were introduced and gaining attention. These courses offer clinical exposure alongside business management classes.
The story of Indian Doctor Entrepreneurs
Many of India’s hospitals were built by doctors who combined clinical excellence with exceptional entrepreneurial zeal. Dr. Prathap Chandra Reddy, a cardiologist, founded Apollo Hospitals in 1983 which is India’s first corporate hospital chain. Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, a cardiothoracic surgeon, founded Narayana Health in Bengaluru in 2000, Dr. T.M.A. Pai built the Manipal Hospitals Group, Dr. B.L. Kapur, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, established what is today BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi, Dr. Naresh Trehan founded Medanta The Medicity in 2009. In the Northeastern part of India, Dr. Nomal Chandra Borah, a neurologist, founded GNRC to cater to the healthcare demands of Northeast India in 1987. Dr. Major S.K. Lal started Dr. Lal PathLabs in 1949 which became one of the most iconic diagnostic brand.
Each of these doctors combined their clinical exposure, business vision, altruism and leadership to create the success they are today.
The Results
Many doctors feel that business and medicine are at odds and shouldn’t be mixed. Both of them have their given place. But medicine needs financial, operational and institutional sustenance and without those a successful practice cannot keep operating.
The Bottom line
The future of best clinical practice is when both of these two fields work together by recognizing that they are both partners. Healing is a mission and business skills will sustain it by allowing it to grow and reach more people.
REFERENCES:
MBH/AB