Finance

How medical education debt drives the physician shortage

Finance

March 30, 2026

I have sat in a lot of rooms where smart, well-meaning people puzzle over why American medicine keeps producing the same outcomes: Too few doctors in too many places, primary care is underfunded, and rural hospitals are consistently closing. The answer, frustrating as it is, comes down to a single systems principle: Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets. By that standard, we should not be …

Physician financial risk: Balancing capacity and tolerance

Stanley Liu, MD

Finance

March 19, 2026

It keeps us up at night. We pay thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to protect ourselves from it. Our hospitals or practices have entire departments dedicated to managing it.

It is “Risk.”

Avoiding risk is an inherent part of modern medicine. Every day, we practice CYA documentation, ensure our patients sign informed consent forms, and do everything we can to minimize the risk that someone will sue us …

Physician tax strategies: Why your tax bill is so high and how to fix it

Logan Foltz, MD

Finance

February 27, 2026

If you are frustrated by your high tax bill, you are not alone. I have spoken with many doctors who experience sticker shock when they see their total annual tax liability after completing residency. Stories in the media, such as The Atlantic’s recent study on billionaire taxes, about how rich people avoid taxes only fan the flames. It is no surprise, then, that one of the most common financial …

Physician asset protection: a guide to entity strategy

Clint Coons, Esq

Finance

December 20, 2025

A few years ago, I met a talented internist who had been practicing for 15 years. She owned a small clinic, worked long hours, and ran a thriving patient base, but when we reviewed her financials, I realized she’d been paying far more in taxes and taking far more risk than she needed to.

Her response was one I hear often: “Clint, I’m not a businessperson; I’m a doctor.”

It’s a mindset …

Why malpractice insurance isn’t enough

Clint Coons, Esq

Finance

December 12, 2025

A few months ago, I received a call from a frustrated surgeon.

It wasn’t about a malpractice claim; he was covered there. The problem was that his teenage son had totaled the family car. Nobody was seriously hurt, thankfully, but the other driver’s attorney was already sniffing around his assets. He told me, “Clint, this can’t touch my house or savings, right? I have medical malpractice insurance.”

That’s when I had to …

Read more…

Why malpractice insurance isn’t enough

Physician night shifts: Analyzing the financial and personal trade-offs

Rob Anderson, MD

Finance

December 11, 2025

I once promised myself confidently, and with the full arrogance of a seasoned attending, that I would never sleep another night in a hospital. I’d done my time. I’d earned my daylight. But life has a way of calling your bluff. A few years later, everything had shifted. I was divorced. My kids were older and more independent. My clinical career had settled into something comfortable, but predictable. I found …

How to navigate private equity in medicine

David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Finance

December 2, 2025

In a valuable episode of the Wealth Planning for the Modern Physician podcast, host David Mandell, JD, MBA, welcomed two guests who have navigated a common trend in independent medicine today: private equity. Dr. Steve Hamilton, sports medicine physician and orthopedic surgeon at Beacon Orthopedics, and Andy Blankemeyer, CEO of Beacon and OrthoAlliance, shared their firsthand experiences with practice growth, private equity partnerships, and what physicians should consider when approached …

wRVU threshold risks in physician contracts

Dennis Hursh, Esq

Finance

November 30, 2025

Many physicians do not seem to grasp the risks inherent in physician employment agreements that impose a minimum threshold of wRVU production. However, there can be many pitfalls in these agreements.

What is the effect of the threshold?

The first pitfall is determining the effect of a threshold. Some agreements provide a salary “assuming a minimum threshold of” some number of wRVUs. I have reviewed many agreements with a provision like that …

Physician entrepreneurship and financial freedom

David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Finance

November 11, 2025

In a unique episode of the Wealth Planning for the Modern Physician podcast, host David Mandell, JD, MBA, sat down with a resident, although not your typical resident! Dr. Wendell Cole, an orthopedic surgery resident at the time, is also a fellow podcaster, author, and entrepreneur. Despite being in the early stages of his medical career, Dr. Cole had already built a track record of innovation and initiative. His story …

How new physicians can build their career

David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Finance

October 24, 2025

Introduction

In a recent episode of the Wealth Planning for the Modern Physician podcast, host David Mandell, JD, MBA, welcomed Dr. Michael Ast, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in adult reconstruction and joint replacement surgery. Beyond being an accomplished clinician at the Hospital of Special Surgery in New York, Dr. Ast also lectures often on business and career issues, and is especially passionate about teaching younger physicians how to build their practices …

Why doctors make bad financial decisions

Wesley J. McBride, MD, CFP

Finance

October 24, 2025

Doctors, I like to think, are fairly intelligent people. We worked hard in school, extremely hard in residency, and continue to refine our skills decades into practice. In addition to being intellectual, we are often experts in our fields. We enjoy more respect and higher salaries than most professions. Our work can be humbling and challenging, and it exposes us to the flawed nature of humans. Despite deeply understanding that …

First physician employment agreement mistakes

Dennis Hursh, Esq

Finance

October 23, 2025

I have been representing physicians for over 30 years, and I am still amazed by the attitude of most young physicians going into their first attending position. These are smart, accomplished, fully qualified physicians who have received some of the best clinical training in the world. And yet, many of these highly trained individuals in a field with massive shortages seem reluctant to acknowledge even the slightest modicum of self-worth.

Bear …

Why physicians need a personal CFO and how tax mitigation fits in

Erik Brenner, CFP

Finance

October 20, 2025

As a physician, you are no stranger to complexity. From the first days of medical school to the years of long shifts in residency, you make high-stakes decisions every day. Yet many doctors tell us they feel too busy, or under-resourced, to give their money the same level of care.

That is where a Personal CFO helps. Just as a hospital relies on a chief financial officer to align budgets, risks, …

The link between financial literacy and physician burnout

Hayley Gates & Ketan Kulkarni, MD

Finance

October 14, 2025

An excerpt from The Savvy Physician: A Financial Wellness Handbook for Physicians and Professionals.

As a physician, helping people in need is among the greatest honors and privileges in the world. In the complex world of medicine, physicians and health care professionals have the opportunity and privilege to enormously contribute to patient well-being at a time of significant personal and/or family health crisis.

In addition, many physicians and health care professionals …

Building a practice and avoiding business pitfalls

David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Finance

October 8, 2025

In Season 1 of the Wealth Planning for the Modern Physician podcast, host David Mandell, JD, MBA, sat down with Dr. Desmond “Desi” McGuire, a respected ophthalmologist and founder of Retina Associates of Orange County. Their conversation traced Dr. McGuire’s path from childhood influences and early career choices to building a thriving practice and navigating the financial ups and downs of medical entrepreneurship. For physicians seeking guidance on balancing clinical …

Why can’t finding a doctor job be like Zillow?

Rob Anderson, MD

Finance

September 30, 2025

After seventeen years of marriage, I found myself divorced, co-parenting, and facing two of life’s most daunting transitions at once: reentering the dating world and buying a new home. The reasons were many: parenting stressors, mid-life transitions, childhood wounds, and outside influences. There was no doubt that my career as a full-time, call-taking anesthesiologist also played a role. While the brutal 24-hour calls and 80-hour weeks were mostly behind me, …

Choosing a retirement plan for your medical clinic

Paul Morton, CFP

Finance

September 27, 2025

Physicians who are also business owners have two jobs: treating patients and running their business. Hiring and keeping employees is one of the job descriptions of the latter. It is no surprise that choosing and maintaining employee benefits is not at the top of an exciting to-do list. Even if hospital systems are not your direct competition, they are often competing for …

What is financial therapy for physicians?

David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Finance

September 20, 2025

Physicians dedicate years of training to caring for patients, often at the expense of their own financial well-being. While most doctors are well-versed in diagnosing illness, far fewer have the tools to diagnose the emotional and behavioral challenges that affect their relationship with money. In a recent episode of my podcast, I sat down with orthopedic surgeon Greg Gilot, MD, and financial therapist Erika Wasserman to explore the emerging field …

Create your own financial vision for independence

Michael Lynch, CFP and Alisa Olsen, CFP

Finance

September 19, 2025

An excerpt from Taking Care of Your Future: Your Simple System for a Big Retirement.

Whose plan? Is it yours or someone else’s?

Your financial plan is too important to be someone else’s. It must be yours. This book will help make it so.

It all starts with your vision.

Ever notice that when you get a new car, you suddenly see the same model all over the road and in about every …

Why physicians should not be their own financial planner

Michelle Neiswender, CFP

Finance

September 17, 2025

You spent years learning how to save lives, diagnose complex cases, and manage high-pressure situations. But nowhere in medical school did they teach you how to create a retirement plan, minimize taxes, or structure an investment portfolio.

Yet many doctors try to manage their own finances, thinking, “I am smart and disciplined; I can figure this out.” The truth? Being your own certified financial planner (CFP) often ends up costing more …

Finance

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