The Doctors Mentor® Show: Ideal Medical Practice | Business of Medicine | Entrepreneurship | Exit Strategies | Docgitimacy

You're working harder than you were five years ago, and your take-home hasn't changed or it's gone down. You can feel the gap, but you can't pinpoint where it is. That's because the biggest revenue problems in independent practice aren't on the surface. They're structural — hiding inside pricing you haven't revisited, patients who drifted away and were never reactivated, and referral systems that were never built. In this episode, Dr. Lori Barr, aka The Doctors Mentor®, introduces the seven revenue levers in every independent practice and goes deep on the two most commonly neglected: Price Optimization and Reactivation Potential. Using anonymized stories from real physician conversations, she walks through the math of what these overlooked levers are actually costing you — and gives you a DIY audit you can start before the episode ends. In this episode, you'll learn: The seven revenue levers hiding inside every independent practice and why most owners are only managing two or three of them Why a five-year-old fee schedule could be silently costing you $40K–$64K per year The inactive patient math: how a simple quarterly reactivation campaign can generate $15K–$50K without a single dollar in ad spend Why smart, credentialed practice owners still miss these patterns (hint: it's not intelligence, it's proximity) How optimizing just three levers can compound into $86K+ in additional annual revenue without adding patients or staff A three-step revenue audit you can run this week with no outside help References: [1] Ekeh O, Simmons A, Farmer A, Hunter K, Zheng L. Current status of healthcare financial literacy among medical trainees and junior hospitalists: An observational survey study. Medicine. 2025;104(7):e41581. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000041581 [2] Igu JA, Zakaria S, Bar-Or YD. Systematic review of personal finance training for physicians and a proposed curriculum. BMJ Open. 2022;12(12):e064733. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-064733. PMID: 36572491; PMCID: PMC9806052. [3] Berenson RA, Rich EC. US approaches to physician payment: the deconstruction of primary care. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25(6):613-618. doi:10.1007/s11606-010-1295-z. PMID: 20467910; PMCID: PMC2869428. Resources mentioned: Practice Growth Launchpad (virtual 2-week sprint): thedoctorsmentor.com/practice-growth-launchpad Discovery Day (live 1-day implementation workshop): thedoctorsmentor.com/discoveryday Practice Growth Mastermind: thedoctorsmentor.com/mastermind 2026 Discovery Day Dates: June 8, 2026 Portland, ME | September 16, 2026 Kanab, UT | December 8, 2026 Pensacola, FL

Listen to the transformational journey of architectural photographer Greg van Riel, a solopreneur who struggled with the loneliness of unwitnessed achievement. Maybe you struggle with this as a doctor, physical therapist, dentist, chiropractor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant while building your practice. Dr. Lori Barr goes deep on two proven methods to cure this malady and gives you three action steps to move from lonely and struggling to joyful and thriving as you advance on your professional career path. 00:00 Meet Greg van Riel, Architectural Photographer 03:58 The Paradox of Solo Excellence 06:00 Napoleon Hill's Master Mind 09:45 Communities of Practice: the Science Behind the Structure 14:33 Two Structures, Different Strengths 18:20 The Practical Difference - Greg van Riel's Story 22:09 Why This Matters to Professional Practice Owners Now 23:53 Your Next Steps: Two Paths Forward 30:41 Permission and Closing Thoughts Resources: Greg van Riel, Architectural Photographer: https://gvrpix.com Send your master mind or community of practice experiences to Dr. Lori Barr at [email protected] The Practice Growth Mastermind https://thedoctorsmentor.com/mastermind-2026/ Discovery Day https://thedoctorsmentor.com/discoveryday/ References: [1] Physician Coaching by Professionally Trained Peers for Burnout, Empowerment, and Professional Fulfillment. *JAMA Network Open*, 2024. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2817481 [2] Implementation and effectiveness of a physician-focused peer support initiative. *NIH PMC*, 2023. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10619771/ [3] Jean Lave, Étienne Wenger and communities of practice. *Infed.org*, 2025. https://infed.org/dir/welcome/jean-lave-etienne-wenger-and-communities-of-practice/ [4] The aims and effectiveness of communities of practice in healthcare. *PLOS One*, 2023. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0292343 [5] Outcomes of co-designed communities of practice. *NIH PMC*, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11237988/ [6] Peer Support Groups Have Positive Impact on Physician Stress and Burnout. *Medical Central*, 2023. https://www.medcentral.com/burnout/peer-support-groups-have-positive-impact-on-physician-stress-and-burnout [7] Napoleon Hill's Master Mind Concept. *Think and Grow Rich*, 1937. [8] Introduction to communities of practice. *Wenger-Trayner*, 2021. https://www.wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/

Today, we're going to talk about something that might be the most important skill you'll need in 2026—and it has nothing to do with learning the latest AI tool or mastering a new clinical technique. And fair warning: I'm going to make some changes to how I practice in 2026 and what I spend my time on. Because sometimes the best way to teach something is to actually *live* it. We're talking about strategic disengagement. First, a definition. For this podcast, disengagement means permanently withdrawing from something or someone. Ending something. Episode Timestamps [00:00] Open: The Scrap Book on the Shelf [02:13] Segment 1: The Performance Trap [12:07] Segment 2: The Identity Crisis That Isn't [20:12] Segment 3: Protecting Spaciousness [28:58] Segment 4: The AI-Forward Pivot [33:24] Segment 5: Your Action Step: The Mastermind Invitation [36:16] Closing: What's Complete? [38:10] Disclaimer 39:44 Total Run Time Episode Notes & Resources: **Mentioned in this Episode:** - Jenna Kutcher's Goal Digger Podcast (Episode 968) https://jennakutcherblog.com/a-new-chapter-for-goal-digger/ - Mayer, Z., & Freund, A. M. (in press). Better off without? Benefits and costs of resolving goal conflict through goal shelving and goal disengagement. Motivation and Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-022-09966-x - Oettingen, G., Marquardt, M. K., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2012). Mental contrasting turns positive feedback on creative potential into successful performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(5), 990–996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.03.008 - Schwörer, B., Krott, N. R., & Oettingen, G. (2020). Saying goodbye and saying it well: Consequences of a (not) well-rounded ending. Motivation Science, 6(1), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000126 - The Practice Scaling Mastermind: https://TheDoctorsMentor.com/mastermind-2026 **Action Steps from This Episode:** 1. Complete the Spaciousness Audit 2. Identify one thing you're good at that might be trapping you 3. Practice mental contrasting on a desired outcome where you are not seeing much movement 4. Join the 2026 Practice Scaling Mastermind

Ever wonder where those five-digit codes on your medical bills come from and who decides what they're worth? In this episode, Dr. Lori Barr breaks down the two systems that form the backbone of physician reimbursement in the United States: Relative Value Units (RVUs) and CPT codes. In This Episode, You'll Learn: What medicine looked like before RVUs and why the old "fee for service" model was like getting a haircut in different cities How Harvard economist Dr. William Hsiao developed the RVU system in the 1980s to bring transparency and fairness to physician payments The three components of every RVU: physician work, practice expense, and malpractice How the 1989 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act and 1992 Medicare adoption of the RBRVS transformed how healthcare services are valued The role of CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) as the final authority on the physician fee schedule What CPT codes are and how the AMA develops and maintains them The powerful RUC (Relative Value Scale Update Committee) and the fact that CMS follows its recommendations 75-90% of the time Which medical specialties currently have seats on the CPT Editorial Panel and the RUC Committee (as of May 2025) Three actionable ways to get your voice heard: join your specialty societies, volunteer for committees, and write to committee members with a warm introduction

How we communicate within and without influences our ability and our patients' ability to feel better. Are you open to hearing a patient's perspective on communication with doctors and ways to encourage your patients to become more confident communicators? Mr. David Vogt's story is insightful. This is only a part of our interview. More patient-focused portions can be heard on the podcast "Think & Grow Well" Series 2 Episode 1. My book, Think & Grow Well, helps individuals strengthen their minds, bodies, spirits, and awareness before a health challenge strikes. Ready to explore opportunities to integrate a Think & Grow Well Implementation Program into your practice, email me at [email protected]. ©️The Doctors Mentor® LLC 2016-2024