Admin_Adham
Physicians drawn to the business side of medicine cite many reasons for leaving full-time practice, but a common theme emerges — they want to improve a system they view as broken while helping colleagues and patients thrive.
Medscape Medical News spoke with three physicians who made the switch about what changed their path and what they would tell others looking to make a change.
Orthopedic Surgeon Joins Start-Up
This month, Ben Schwartz, MD, MBA, left his 17-year career as an orthopedic surgeon in the Boston area to become the first physician executive at the California start-up, Commons Clinic.
On September 1, he started as senior vice president of Care Services and Strategy, leading the company’s expansion from musculoskeletal care into multispecialty preventative care — including weight loss, cardiology, and women’s health.
For Schwartz, a start-up’s risk was outweighed by the opportunity to create.
I wanted the freedom to build something rather than join something already established. Joining a start-up allows me to have more influence than going to an established health system.
Ben Schwartz, MD, MBA
Commons’ mission is to “take on health systems” by driving high-cost procedures to lower-cost settings, negotiating value-based contracts with insurers, and contracting directly with employers.
Itch to Switch Started 10 Years Into His Career
About a decade into practice, Schwartz sensed the need to do something about the common physician frustrations — reimbursement struggles, turnover, inefficiencies, and electronic health records.
He started investing in and advising start-ups, eventually earning his MBA to better understand business fundamentals. He researched companies working in his primary areas of interest — orthopedics and care delivery innovation — and relied on his clinical experience to judge whether ideas were viable.
In a few cases, I ended up being an adviser to the company first before deciding to make an investment.
Ben Schwartz, MD, MBA
His first investment was in Healent, a start-up whose founder approached him on LinkedIn. Schwartz helped design its app-based platform for musculoskeletal education and received sweat equity before making additional angel investments. His goal with investing, however, was not so much financial gain but to learn about how angel investing and start-ups worked.
“The advice given to me was to put enough in to have some skin in the game but anticipate that you’ll likely lose it all,” he said, noting the high failure rate for early-stage start-ups.
Schwartz’s relationship with Commons also began with a LinkedIn connection. He made a small investment, became an adviser, and even wrote a company blog before taking on his current role.
Now, he says, his focus has shifted from treating individual patients to redesigning care delivery for entire populations. His clinical experience helps the company negotiate a contract based on how effective and efficient the services are and offer a lower-cost proposition in a more cost-controlled center such as a surgery center. He can evaluate operating room flow and whether surgeons’ time and equipment are being used efficiently.
Advice for Physicians Considering the Switch
Schwartz encourages small first steps:
- Connect with entrepreneurs on LinkedIn.
- Network at national healthcare innovation meetings.
- Consider advising or investing in start-ups.
Still, he stresses the importance of clinical immersion first.
“Stay in practice for several years,” he advised. “You’ll gain an understanding of what healthcare is really about. My plug is always to get some frontline experience.”
Convergence of Clinical and Corporate
Sachin H. Jain, MD, MBA, has long balanced clinical and corporate work. Today, he is CEO of the SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plans — while still practicing as a hospitalist.
Keeping close to the real experience of patients and physicians allows you to be a more authentic leader and have your ideas grounded in the real frontline reality.
Sachin H. Jain, MD, MBA
His clinical experience shaped his corporate focus on loneliness and isolation as key health issues. At his previous role as CEO of CareMore (now Carelon Health), he launched the industry’s first Togetherness Program for members struggling with loneliness. At SCAN, he has expanded initiatives to connect members with peer groups, navigators, and community resources.
Jain stays connected to members: All 310,000 plan members have his direct email.
“A member recently contacted me about trouble accessing a medication. By collaborating with our pharmacy team, we resolved it quickly. Being accessible builds trust,” he said.
Jain originally pursued health policy, earning an MD degree from Harvard Medical School and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School, both in Boston. He took a leave during his internal medicine residency to work at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and later at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where he helped launch the CMS Innovation Center. After finishing his residency, he spent time at Merck building a digital health function while practicing at the Boston Veterans Administration Hospital, Boston, before moving into leadership roles at CareMore and SCAN.
Tips for Venturing Into Business
Jain underscores the importance of mentorship and building what he calls a “personal board of directors.”
He also cautions physicians not to abandon their clinical identity.
“Some physicians try to fit in too much with businesspeople and forget that part of their job is to be the voice of defending patients. In some ways, you need to be an embedded critic of the health system.”
Still, he warns there are risks with jumping to the business side.
Most people in clinical jobs have job security. Physician executive jobs are high stress with a lot of turnover. You have to be willing to take a leap and be comfortable with things not always working out.
Sachin H. Jain, MD, MBA
From Primary Care to Coaching Women Physicians
Karen Leitner, MD, left her “dream job” in primary care after 13 years due to burnout, anxiety, and overwhelm. She turned to a career coach — and the experience inspired her to become a life coach for other women physicians.
In 2020, she launched KarenLeitnerMD Coaching, specializing in helping women physicians achieve satisfaction in work and life. She began with two clients and has since coached more than 500 women physicians.
Starting the business meant learning everything from scratch. Leitner hired her former coach for guidance, then brought on a bookkeeper and accountant while teaching herself marketing and social media promotion.
Autonomy has been the biggest reward.
“Being able to control how much you work, and how you work, has been huge,” she said. “It’s also allowed me to spend more time with my family.”
The career change has also been financially rewarding, though Leitner emphasizes money wasn’t the driver.
“I love what I’m doing, and it’s an amazing by-product that it’s also more lucrative. But if you just do it to make more money, you could be just as miserable.”
A Different Mindset
One of the hardest adjustments was embracing failure.
You have to be prepared to fail — over and over — because it’s the only way you learn and grow.” “Medicine teaches you to avoid failure at all costs.
Karen Leitner, MD
Though she has paused her medical license, Leitner still embraces her doctor identity.
“Because I’m helping doctors take better care of themselves and their patients, I still feel like I’m helping patients,” she said. “It’s an indirect delivery.”
Marcia Frellick is an independent, Chicago-based healthcare writer and a regular Medscape Medical News contributor.
