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Meetings are a reality for all physicians,but running a productive meeting isa skill that takes some cultivating.

Whether your group is as small as three or as large as 23, you must do three things tomake your meetings successful:

1. Gather the necessary participants. 2. Make the meeting effective and efficient. 3. Follow through on the decisions made

and communicate them to the appropriatepeople.

Here’s how you can accomplish each ofthese steps.

Rounding up your groupHow do you get doctors to attend yourmeeting? First, pick a favorable time. You

cannot afford to conduct meetings at a timewhen patients are normally scheduled. Mygroup has found early morning or noonworks best – but not on Monday or Friday. (I always chuckle when I see a hospital meet-ing set for 10 a.m. This shows they reallydon’t want primary care doctors in atten-dance, since mid-morning is when we’re typi-cally busy seeing patients.) When picking thedate, try to avoid long days. For example,don’t plan an early morning meeting whenthere is an evening obligation for several ofyour members. My group minimizes eveningmeetings at all costs to preserve family life.

Another important tactic for maximizingmeeting attendance is a constant stream ofreminders. We send an early notification (atthe previous meeting, if possi-ble), mention it in all internalcommunications and send outa cover letter with the agendaand all relevant informationthree days ahead. Our finalreminder is a voicemail or anintra-office message the daybefore the meeting. It may seem cumbersome,but it works. Our schedules are so full of clini-cal appointments and disruptions that admin-istrative obligations can easily get overlookedin the heat of a busy day.

Incentives can also be useful for luringphysicians to meetings. Always provide food

Dr. Shenkel is executive directorof Primary Care Partners, PC,a 23-physician group of familyphysicians and pediatriciansand a member of the FPMBoard of Editors. Conflicts ofinterest: none reported.

By gathering the right people, using your time wisely and focusing on action,you’ll conduct meetings everyone will want to attend.

Roger Shenkel, MD

• Conducting a successful meeting, like any skill,requires practice.

• To maximize attendance at your meeting, select thedate and time carefully, send plenty of reminders andconsider offering incentives to those who attend.

• As the meeting’s organizer, you must assemble anagenda that addresses important issues and makesure the attendees stick to these topics. Afterward,compose your minutes concisely so that assign-ments and deadlines are clear.

KEY POINTS You cannot afford to

conduct meetings at a

time when patients are

normally scheduled.

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60 ■ F A M I L Y P R A C T I C E M A N A G E M E N T ■ www.aafp.org / fpm ■ July/August 2003

and drinks. Some doctors will want to gettheir breakfast at the early morning meet-ings, and lunch must be served at a noonmeeting. On rare occasions, we pay our doc-tors to attend. This is done primarily whenwe are meeting to benefit a third party (suchas a utilization review entity), and we ask thethird party to foot the bill. Sometimes theyagree. A payment of $100 to $150 per doc-tor seems to entice more attendees.

Keeping it short and sweet Once you have the physicians assembled, youneed to run a great meeting so they will comeback next time. The first step is to be pre-pared; if you go in cold, those around thetable will sense it – and they deserve betterthan that. Assemble an agenda of relevant top-ics, and send the necessary background infor-mation with the agenda no more than threedays in advance so thatno one will lose or forgetit. If your agenda seemsanemic, call off the meet-ing. It’s better to cancel afew meetings than towaste everyone’s time.

When running the meeting, you mustbehave as a tactful, benevolent dictator. Thiswill help ensure that all opinions get aired anda decision gets made. Doctors appreciate mak-ing an informed decision at the initial meetingin which a topic is introduced (versus the tradi-tional format of distributing information dur-ing a meeting and either rushing to anuninformed decision or repeating the subjectat a subsequent meeting). As the meetingleader, you must keep the group on topic andfocused. You destroy your meeting if you letindividuals ramble incessantly. Don’t forgetevery group has a “dominator” – the gruffphysician whose opinions silence everyone elsein the room. Make sure to ask for other opin-ions and, when necessary, a motion and a vote.The silent, considerate majority – common infamily practices – needs to be heard, and it’syour job to ensure it is.

Remember that timing is the key to agood meeting. When you gather a group ofphysicians around a table, revenue produc-tion goes to zero, so you do not want towaste time. Have a schedule, stick to it andfinish promptly. Doctors will inevitably driftin late, so I suggest starting the meeting withlight topics, such as minutes approval. Toensure you have ample time to discuss the

most important or controversial issues,always place them in the middle of youragenda; never leave these issues to the end.

When your meeting involves special pre-senters, do not let them dwell on unimportantdetails. They should hit the high points andask for questions. If necessary, spend time withthem before the meeting, telling them howmuch time they have and reviewing what theyintend to present. When they have used uptheir time, cut them off gently but firmly.

Taking actionDon’t wait until the end of the meeting toestablish a plan for executing your decisions,because many of the doctors will have alreadyleft the room. As you address each item onyour agenda, determine who is responsiblefor implementing the decisions, and set anappropriate deadline for completion. This

information should alsobe highlighted in themeeting’s minutes.

Minutes are criticalto a successful meeting –so critical, in fact, that I often record them

myself. When someone unattached to themeeting records the minutes, they often focuson small details that simply clutter the page.This results in ineffective minutes that no onereads. I will frequently jot down notes on myagenda and then dictate succinct minutes. Besure the minutes go to everyone who attendedthe meeting and anyone else who needs toknow what was discussed. If you have mean-ingful content and your minutes are succinct,physicians are much more likely to read them.

After the minutes have been distributed,call and remind those with assignments tobe prepared to report on them before thenext meeting. Be sure to plan the next meet-ing far enough in advance so everyone hastime to complete the tasks.

Success!A well-run meeting is a thing of beauty anda highly effective management tool. If youare consistently efficient and effective, yourphysicians and staff will be more involvedand informed – and more willing to attendfuture meetings. Try implementing some ofthese suggestions, and your entire practicewill benefit.

Send comments to fpmedit@aafp.org.

Meetings scheduled

during early morning or

at noon will ensure a

larger turnout in most

physician groups.

Send several reminders

to physicians prior to a

meeting as their sched-

ules are very busy and

meetings tend to get

overlooked.

As the meeting’s

leader, you should cre-

ate an agenda with

important topics and

be prepared to moder-

ate the discussions.

The meeting’s minutes

should be succinct yet

informative, including

what was decided at

the meeting, who is

responsible for the

tasks and when they

must be completed.

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SPEEDBAR®

When running the meeting,

you must behave as a tactful,

benevolent dictator.