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Let’s Connect: When It Comes to Patient Care

ACHE of South Florida – How Easy Do You Make It?

About a year and a half ago, my wife and I
Spotlight downsized our home which translated into mov-
ing east about 25 minutes. After 12 months of
going out of our way for doctor appointments,
we started to weigh which medical professionals
ACHE of South Florida Spotlight: were worth fighting traffic for. As a result, some
did not make the cut.
Paula M. Zalucki I reached out to was either impressively smooth
The new patient process at some of the offices
or extremely difficult. Let me give you the worst
BY VANESSA ORR
example. I called a highly recommended health-
For more than 25 years, Paula M. care provider and requested an appointment. I BY JAY JUFFRE
Zalucki, FACHE, FACMPE, has served was asked for my name, birthdate, and insurance
in consulting and senior leadership roles information. So far, so good. Basics were cov-
in medical groups, large integrated deliv- ered. They then asked me what time worked best for me. I replied either first
ery systems, and community hospitals. thing in the morning or late afternoon, preferably Friday. ‘They replied, 7:30
As the senior manager at ECG am a week from Friday work?’ “Perfect” I replied. Then everything got dicey.
Management Consultants, she is focused Two days before the appointment, I got a call from their office. “There is a
on performance improvement among problem with your insurance.” Once I heard why, I immediately knew what
medical groups, specifically those that was going on and explained that my name and my son’s name were the same
are part of hospital systems. and that someone; their office, the insurance company or maybe my 20-year-
“I help clients improve their opera- old, had somehow transposed some of the information. “Well, you need to
tions and increase access, looking at Paula M. Zalucki call your insurance company and get this straightened out.” I politely
everything from how a patient enters the explained that I was too busy to be calling insurance companies. The person
system and gets scheduled for appoint- you have to make a commitment to life- politely informed me that this was my “problem”. I then politely cancelled the
ments to how they move through the long learning,” she said. “ACHE pro- appointment. Navigating insurance and payment options is difficult for most
care process in an ambulatory setting to vides resources as well as avenues to net- people.
get the care they need,” she explained. work and share ideas. It allows you to Telling potential new, or any patients what they need to do and what their
Before joining ECG, where she has keep up with the rapid changes taking problems are is rarely the best approach. Yet many times we punt issues back
been for the past year, Zalucki held con- place while also fostering collaboration.” to them as if people seeking our services owed us anything. When it comes to
sulting roles with Berkeley Research Zalucki first became affiliated with patient care, help your teams make it easier to do business with you. Who
Group and Deloitte. She has also served ACHE in 1988, and has since become knows how many new patients you will attract (or potentially drive away)?
as the vice president of physician servic- quite involved, having served as chapter
es for Jupiter Medical Center and has president for ACHE of North Texas, and Jay Juffre is Executive Vice President, ImageFIRST. For more information on
held executive positions within health as regent for the Greater Dallas-Fort ImageFIRST, call 1-800-932-7472 or visit www.imagefirst.com.
systems in Texas, Georgia and Florida. Worth area. She has also served as facul-
“I’ve always been in healthcare, other ty to dozens of ACHE chapter education
than working at a Chuck E. Cheese for events, enabling hundreds of candidates
19 days in high school,” laughed to prepare for the Fellow exam.
Zalucki. “I worked on the provider side “When I joined ACHE, members were
for several decades before moving into required to advance to board certifica-
consulting for the last 10 years.” tion and take the exam within two “ You can’t separate the clinical
Even before the pandemic, things were years,” said Zalucki, who is dually

challenging for the industry, but Zalucki boarded with Fellow status in the and the financial – not anymore.”
says that it’s now even more imperative American College of Healthcare
for healthcare professionals to focus on Executives and the American College of People who know Healthcare, know BDO.
operational improvement. Medical Practice Executives. “Now you
“Practices are looking to improve mar- can stay a member in perpetuity without
gins, as healthcare is very restricted with board certification, but for those who
which services gets paid, so it’s impor- want to pursue it, it is the gold standard
tant to know how to cut waste and in demonstrating your commitment to
improve efficiencies. That’s become even the field.”
more heightened since the pandemic,” Zalucki still helps candidates prepare
said Zalucki. for the exam, and recently held a virtual
“Access to care has also become more program to help 60 participants review
of a focus as healthcare systems have had the material. She also encourages those
to pivot to provide new ways for patients new to the healthcare field to become
to access their services. Telehealth has ACHE members.
become a huge growth area,” she added. “I believe that it shows a commitment
“Emergency rooms are no longer being to the profession, to lifelong learning,
misused for primary care, so systems are and to professional development,” she
now having to establish stronger rela- said. “I advise all early careerists, as well
tionships with PCPs, or provide tele- as students in healthcare, to look at what
health online.” ACHE offers. Not only can they partici- The BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation
According to Zalucki, one of the best pate in local and national events, but As the healthcare industry enters an era of unprecedented transformation, anticipating and
ways to stay abreast of the latest trends is they can also network beyond their understanding the future state model of healthcare is more important than ever. From advising on
by being a member of a premier profes- immediate employers, find mentors, and complex joint ventures, to M&A services, to healthcare redesign, BDO’s multidisciplinary teams help

sional membership organization like the collaborate with colleagues and peers to organizations plan for and implement the financial and clinical changes needed to transform their
institutions — and thrive in the years to come.
American College of Healthcare Exe - expand their knowledge base while mak-
cutives (ACHE). ing lifelong friends.”
Alfredo Cepero, 305-420-8006 / acepero@bdo.com
“In order to survive in this industry,
Angelo Pirozzi, 646-520-2870 / apirozzi@bdo.com
@BDOHealth www.bdo.com/blogs/healthcare
Accountants | Advisors | Doctors
www.bdo.com/healthcare
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