They say that a journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step.
Note that the saying doesn’t discriminate between heading in the right direction or the wrong direction.
This is certainly true of the steps taken a connection with a medical group’s relationship with payors, hospitals, referral sources and patients. Each movement along the business road involves small decisions. A few small missteps don’t deter from reaching an ultimate desired destination – as long as you quickly realize that they are steps in the wrong direction and then make corrections.
But allowed to continue unchecked, small, discrete errors have a multiplier effect, quickly taking you off your course to, say, business San Francisco, sending you to business San Marcos.
Check your compass often, taking stock of the direction you’re headed in. You might believe, for instance, that the only important provision in a payor agreement is the rate, only to be surprised a year later when you’re not being paid, the effect of which multiplies to the inability to retain staff.
