In today’s world of big corporate health care systems, private medical practices are a space for patients who want a different experience and physicians who do not want to work in a big system structure. Private medical practices often face sustainability issues, many physicians find themselves looking at the possibility of selling or ceasing operations. Melissa Starowitz, the founder of Cornerstone Healthcare Consulting and Management, is an expert in healthcare administration and management, specializing in guiding private physician practices into a more sustainable future, increasing business and quality of patient care.

Starowitz has a long history of successfully running multiple practices of her own and was offering telemedicine well before the COVID-19 pandemic made it so popular. Now, she is working to help private practice physicians turn their business around with her unique and highly effective turnaround consulting method. Her goal is to keep private practices in business and allow practitioners to focus on their area of expertise, treating patients.

Starowitz‘s approach is distinctly different than most, setting her apart from other healthcare management consultants. Most consultants come in, review the practice, identify problem areas, develop a plan to address them, then leave. Starowitz explains that she takes a whole-picture approach, she is not just going to give a practice a once over and some suggestions. Instead, she conducts a thorough, very in-depth examination of the business, getting into the details about literally everything to gain a full perspective of how the business operates, and where things can be improved. Her goal is to reduce both operating costs and overhead, once she is done identifying areas and methods of improvement, she sticks around to implement them.

Starowitz focuses on areas that are often overlooked when practitioners are trying to figure out why their business is not sustainable. Part of the process is in-depth, confidential interviews with every member of the staff, and determining if personnel are in the right positions for their education and skills. It is often the case that someone who may not have the right skill set is making decisions about things like benefits packages, vendors, supply chain contracts, and more that end up costing the practice money. Starowitz goes through the practice top to bottom with a fine-tooth comb, then develops a detailed plan, specific to that practice’s needs, to move forward.

One of the areas that showcases Starowitz as a changemaker is that she is willing to do whatever it takes to help a private practice turn around its business and has the skills to back it up. She will do everything from implementing websites and marketing, doing social media, rebranding, engaging the staff, and more. A big part of the work is improving outdated technology, Starowitz is hands-on, she will install phone systems herself if need be!

Starowitz is passionate about high-quality medical care and is a shining example of an independent woman in business. She always had an entrepreneurial mindset, starting a lawn mowing business in college to support herself. Originally, she planned to study clinical medicine, eventually realizing her skills were better placed in management, where she made her passion for providing the best possible care for patients come to life. As an only parent to her young son, Starowitz is an amazing example of a driven businesswoman who has made her mark, building a business to meet her own needs as well as those of her clients. Learn more about Starowitz and her impressive model of turnaround consulting on her website, and connect with her on LinkedIn and Facebook!

Making Private Medical Practices Sustainable