46 AMGA.ORGJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

THOUGHT LEADERObservations from an Industry Expert

Resistance to Change: Don’t Take It PersonallyAn interview with Privia Medical Group – North Texas CEO Larry Tatum, M.D.

GPJ: What are the biggest challenges your organization is facing in the current healthcare environment?Tatum: The biggest challenges for our organi-zation include living in a world between fee for service and value/risk, creating the systems required to deliver and report on quality, cost-effective health care, and helping our patients navigate the medical and business complexities of our healthcare system.

GPJ: What are the most pressing challenges for you as a leader?Tatum: For me as a leader, one of the most pressing challenges is helping our organization remember that it is all about the patients who entrust their care to us. Other challenges include managing the tyranny of day-to-day operations while planning for the future and helping our organization under-stand that change is a present-day reality.

GPJ: What are key strengths and skills needed to be a successful leader in health care today?Tatum: Today’s healthcare leaders need per-sonal strength of conviction to lead change while not taking the inevitable harsh comments about that change personally. If you carry my business card and expect folks to immediately embrace and support new ways of thinking, you’re going to be disappointed.

GPJ: How are you addressing the need for physician leadership development?Tatum: We have a two-step approach to leadership. First, we actively attempt to include potential lead-ers in our governance/committee structure during the early years of their medical career. Their duties in this structure expand as they demonstrate engagement and capability. The second compo-nent is our physician retreat, where we present academic material pertinent to the business of medicine, such as double-entry accounting, health law, IT structure, leadership theory, etc.

GPJ: With so many disrupters coming into the healthcare marketplace, how are you innovating

Larry Tatum, M.D., serves as the CEO of Privia Medical Group – North Texas. As a founding member of Texas

Health Care, PLLC, in 2003 and a member of Texas Health Care, PA, from 1995 to 2002, Dr. Tatum has experienced the value and high success of a multispecialty group governed and led by physicians.

His experience in bringing together more than 150 physicians geographically dispersed throughout Tarrant County, Texas, and successfully working to improve health care is why he seeks to continue his journey rewarding physicians for the value they create. Dr. Tatum began his medical career as a self-employed physician in a solo medical practice over 30 years ago after completing his residency and internship. In addition to his participation in numerous industry associa-tions and boards, Dr. Tatum serves as At Large Member on the AMGA Board of Directors. Group Practice Journal recently asked him about his views on how to effectively lead in today’s healthcare environment.

Elevating the industry

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when you always put policyholders first,

there’s no limit to how high you can go.

Elevating the industry

magmutual.com/innovation

800-282-4882

Mutual is more than part of our name,

it’s part of everything we do. We stay on

top by focusing on our policyholders,

developing bold innovations and smarter

solutions to help you understand

your risk, predict your outcomes and

improve your odds better than any other

insurer. We keep raising the standard in

healthcare liability insurance – because

when you always put policyholders first,

there’s no limit to how high you can go.

to stay ahead of the curve?Tatum: In the Dallas-Fort Worth area (12 counties, 7.8 million residents) we live in the land of the giants, where large hospital and insurance companies have invested millions in proprietary medical practices. Our medical group was histori-cally Tarrant County, but we have come to the realization that we require a presence across the entire 12-county area. We have made the investment through our Privia Health relationship to provide a single tax ID alternative for independent physi-cians to be part of something “bigger than themselves” across this area.

GPJ: How is your organization making the transition to value-based care?Tatum: Like many practices, our move to value started with simple pay-for-performance contracts. Next, we became involved in Medicare Advantage. Currently,

we are also involved in MSSP ACO, obstetrical episodes of care, and BCPI-hips and knees. As a multispecialty group, our goal is to include all practitioners in our value contracts.

GPJ: How is your group addressing the growing need for data/analytics in the future? Tatum: Our group has become convinced that data/analytics are the gateway to population health. We also understand that ready-made, easy answers don’t exist and dealing with data will involve multiple, complex sources of that information. We believe that our participation in AMGA’s Collabora-tive for Performance Excellence will assist with the aggregation of that data, but also provide benchmark data across a larger denominator.

GPJ: You have been very involved with AMGA’s advocacy efforts.

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48 AMGA.ORGJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

THOUGHT LEADER

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Why is it important for healthcare leaders to be involved in political advocacy?Tatum: I have found my involvement in AMGA’s advocacy efforts to be eye-opening, especially in Washington, because there is a never-ending parade of individuals discussing their personal or corporate goals with our representatives. Unique to our positions as medical group leaders is the ability to dis-cuss a value-based agenda that benefits our patients.

GPJ: You also serve on AMGA’s Board of Directors. What have you found most valuable about serving on the board?Tatum: What I find interesting about serving on the board is that AMGA includes about 450 medical groups with diversity in

composition, governance, and geography. All members are com-mitted to non-apologetic patient care, never having to apologize to a patient for the care they receive. The board is a microcosm of that variation, and my participation has allowed me to view other organizations’ answers to the challenges we face. It has been said that it takes a lot of smart people to make good decisions, and it has been an honor to participate in that pro-cess with the board on behalf of the members of AMGA.

Leaders from Privia Medical Group and other preeminent medical groups and health systems will be presenting at the AMGA 2020 Annual Conference, March 25–28 in San Diego, California. For more details, visit amga.org/ac20.