The CEO Physician: Strategic Blueprint For Independent Medicine

You didn't go to medical school to become a production unit in someone else's financial equation.For twenty years, I sat in the boardrooms where your reimbursement rates were calculated. I reviewed the actuarial models that predicted your practice profitability. I designed the operational frameworks that determined whether you'd succeed or burn out.The system isn't broken. It's functioning exactly as designed, just not for you.THE INVISIBLE MACHINERYEvery year, commercial payers reduce physician reimbursement by 1-3% while your practice costs rise 3-5%. You're told to see more patients, faster, with less time and fewer resources. The math works on paper but punishes the people inside it.Most physicians don't see the full architecture until they've been trapped for years. By then, you're exhausted, disillusioned, and wondering if there's another way.There is.THE STRATEGIC BLUEPRINTThe CEO Physician isn't another inspirational book about "following your passion." It's a strategic guide built on twenty years of insider knowledge about how healthcare economics actually work and how to build a practice that works for you.Inside, you'll discover:• The real numbers behind independent practice: not conference slide formulas, but calibrated financial models that account for what presenters leave out• Why most DPC practices fail in year one: and the pricing framework that prevents it (with actual case studies showing both failures and pivots)• How to calculate your true cost per patient: including the hidden expenses that sink unsuspecting founders• The compliance architecture that protects your practice: contracts, policies, and legal frameworks that scale from solo to group practice• Patient acquisition strategies that actually work: from $0 marketing to sophisticated referral systems• How to leverage AI and automation: building systems that give you time back without sacrificing quality• Scaling without losing soul: hiring, training, and maintaining culture as you growWHO THIS BOOK IS FORThis book is for physicians who are: → Considering leaving employed practice but need realistic numbers → Already running an independent practice but struggling with profitability → Tired of generic advice and ready for strategic frameworks → Looking to understand healthcare economics well enough to winWHY THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENTMost books on independent practice are written by physicians who escaped the system and want to share their story. This book is written by the strategist who sat across the table, who knows what health plans don't tell you, what contracts actually mean, and what it really takes to build a sustainable practice.No inspirational fluff. No oversimplified formulas. Just strategic frameworks, real case studies, and the insider knowledge you need to build the practice you deserve.THE BOTTOM LINEYou have two choices: continue optimizing for someone else's profit margin, or build a practice on your own terms. This book shows you how to choose the second path with your eyes wide open and your numbers accurate.The CEO Physician: Strategic Blueprint for Independent Medicine — Includes Templates, Checklists & Sample DocumentsAbout the Author: Dana Y. Lujan, MBA is the founder and CEO of Wellthlinks, a healthcare strategy firm dedicated to helping physicians build successful independent practices. With twenty years of experience in network management, contracting, financial modeling, and strategic operations across health plans and health systems, Dana brings an insider's perspective to the business of independent medicine. Her writing has been featured in KevinMD, MedCity News, and Medium. Read more