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Our Strategic Plan Assessment

Christopher Hickey, EVP/CEO

The LMS strategic plan (see figure 1), “Proud of Our Past…Shaping Our Future,” has shifted a twelve year membership

decline by being “physician centric” in its approach. Active physician membership bottomed-out at 499 in 2014 and has

increased to 580 in 2016. The plan focused on increasing value from the perspective of members and the membership

increase is a result. The plan, initiated by 2014 President Thomas H. Waid, M.D., led by our Strategic Planning Commit-

tee Chairman and 2013 President, Larry L. Cunningham, Jr., M.D., and implemented by 2015 President Rice C. Leach,

M.D. and 2016 President Thomas K. Slabaugh, Jr., M.D. has benefited from three years of energy and persistence. The

majority of the plans’ goals, four of seven, are accomplished. The Executive Committee directed LMS to craft a strategic

plan from 2017 to 2020. Robert P. Granacher, Jr., M.D., as our President-Elect and head of our Strategic Planning Com-

mittee, has done that and will communicate a new strategic plan in his address at the LMS General Dinner Meeting on

January 17, when he is installed as our new president. Here is an assessment of our current strategic plan.

Figure 1: LMS Strategic Plan, “Proud of Our Past…Shaping Our Future”

Goal 1: Support Young Physicians

Analysis: Much action in 2015 and 2016, continued focus in 2017 and beyond

A Society weakness, identified in our strategic planning, was the lack of early careerist members below the age of 40. In

2013 this early careerist demographic was only 13% of our membership. In 2016 our active physician under 40 demo-

graphic has increased by 41 members, a 36% increase.

We have a strong relationship with the UK College of Medicine (COM). The new Dean, Robert S. DiPaola, M.D., spoke

at our November dinner meeting and will be an ex-officio member of the LMS Executive Board. The UK College of

Medicine AMA Medical Student Section, led by medical students Megan Rajagopal, Meghan Green, Michael

Romanelli, and Tara Shrout, and Kristin Shattuck of the UK College of Medicine Alumni Association, continue to part-

ner with our third annual “Career Chats” event held this past September at the Signature Club. This year’s event was the

largest ever with 120 medical students and 47 active physicians from eighteen specialties. LMS served as UK COM

Match Day sponsor in 2016 and will again in 2017.

Another program focused on this demographic was the leadership seminar, “Five Things Early-Career Physicians Need

to Know About Leadership,” by Joe Mull, M. Ed., the former head of Learning and Development for Physician Services

at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Joe led this highly engaging and interactive seminar held at the Signature

Club on a Friday evening. Joe led another workshop the next morning called, “Fostering Teamwork: How Physicians &

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Managers Create High-Performing, Close Knit, No-Drama Healthcare Teams.” We purposefully included healthcare

managers because it was seen as value-added to our physician members.

Goal 2: LMS Governance Reform:

Analysis: Accomplished in 2015

Goal 3: Establish Programs Focused on Purpose and Value:

Analysis: Expanded in 2016, continued focus in 2017

The objective of this goal is to increase the perception of value among members and prospective members of the Socie-

ty. The Physician Wellness Program (PWP) was created by Robert P. Granacher, Jr., M.D. and John A. Patterson, M.D.

as a safe harbor for physicians to address normal life difficulties in a confidential and professional environment. The

PWP launched on January 1, 2016 with active physicians and was expanded, in partnership with the UK Graduate Medi-

cal Education and its Assistant Dean, Katherine McKinney, M.D., on July 1, 2016 to include over 700 residents and fel-

lows. The LMS PWP now covers over 1,300 Lexington physicians and is being consistently utilized each month.

The PWP offered a Physician Burnout Proof Workshop led by nationally renowned speaker on this topic, Dike Drum-

mond, M.D., for physicians and spouses at Keeneland on a race day in mid-October. The workshop received raving pos-

itive reviews, and we anticipate bringing Dr. Drummond back in the Fall of 2017.

Goal 4: Establish LMS as the Principal Voice for Central Kentucky Physicians:

Analysis: Continued partnership with the Kentucky Doc magazine in 2016 and expand to more physician writers in

2017

The Society took over editorial control of the Kentucky Doc magazine in April, 2015. Kentucky Doc is a quarterly publi-

cation focused on Central Kentucky and is by physicians, for physicians. LMS designs and writes much of the content

and the Kentucky Doc staff does the technical editing, graphic design, and obtains the advertising. Led by our Editor-in-

Chief, Robert P. Granacher, Jr., M.D, and the editorial board consisting of nine other members, this project has seven

successful issues under their belt and is currently working on the winter issue. This past year we held our second annual

LMS/Kentucky Doc essay contest with the categories of active physician, resident, and medical student. We have

launched our 2017 essay contest with a writing theme, “Describe an experience that has ignited, sustained, or rekindled

your passion for the practice of medicine.” See the LMS website for contest details. We continue to seek physicians to

write or serve on the editorial board.

Goal 5: Establish LMS Strategic Planning System:

Analysis: Accomplished in 2015

Goal 6: Establish New Website and Communication Network:

Analysis: Accomplished in 2015

Goal 7: Streamline Business Practices:

Analysis: Accomplished in 2016 and continue to innovate into the future

Our final goal was to implement more efficient and effective business practices in order to maximize financial steward-

ship and member value. We have modernized our membership management, financial, Medical Society Exchange, and

credentialing software. Our credentialing service has shifted to cloud-based, nearly paperless software in order to speed

up the process and save paper and postage costs. Our Medical Society Exchange (MSE) now operates on a fiber optic,

Voice Over internet Protocol (VOIP) system and is now implementing an innovative concept called real-time schedul-

ing. Real-time scheduling will enable office managers to input and adjust physician schedules remotely which will im-

mediately update the MSE database.

Into the Future

Our first strategic plan modernized our organizational structure, technology, and business practices while initiating a

physician-centric, value-based focus. The plan greatly benefited from a consistent focus across five LMS Presidents.

(continued page 10)

Our internal modernization is now built into how LMS operates which will enable more energy being applied to physi-

cian-centric, value based events and strategy. Strategic planning, by its very nature, is never done and always looks to

improve and adapt to the changing conditions of our environment and the needs of our members.

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