University at Buffalo School of Management

Spring 2017 Buffalo Business 7 to UB after spending most of his career at Harvard and Tufts universities, and who has long been interested in the complex relationship between business and health care. "Running a hospital is like flying a plane," Schwaitzberg says. "It's hard to fix that plane while you're still in the air. The challenge of health care moving forward is that, as clinicians, we have to learn to per- form at the highest possible levels of quality of care and cost efficiency." At Harvard and Tufts, Schwaitzberg was impressed by the value MBA students brought to health care, even when they took on seemingly small projects. For ex- ample, the finding that one hospital used many kinds of mesh during hernia oper- ations with no difference in patient out- comes led a hospital to decide to use only a few, which allowed for better pricing from vendors and substantial health care savings. "The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is home to the third largest surgical residency in the U.S. and we offer great training with all of our hos- pitals participating," he continues. "But to succeed in this increasingly complex health care system, we need clinicians who also have the necessary finance, organizational design and management skills that allow them to provide great systems and pro- grams of care." Lomeo agrees: "We have tremen- dous talent in the health care system and throughout the university," he said, adding that when a physician who has the passion and desire to make things bet- ter also has the MBA skill set, everyone benefits. Learning the business side of medicine Schwaitzberg sees those attributes in Rafael Perez, DO, the UB surgical resident who started his MBA classes this fall, after completing two years of residency. "Rafael is bright and motivated — a perfect inaugural candidate," Schwaitzberg says. "He's taking all the classes MBA stu- dents take, but his internship and capstone projects will take some aspect at Kaleida Health, where there's opportunity for im- provement, and make it better." That's the kind of experience Perez is seeking. "I am confident I'll come out of my UB residency as a well-trained, capable surgeon," he says. "However, for better or worse, medicine is a business. My knowl- edge of the business side of medicine is lacking and I am sure that most of my col- leagues here and around the nation proba- bly feel the same. "As busy as we are during residency, it would be nearly impossible to include busi- ness or management courses in our curric- ulum," he continues. "But this program has been uniquely tailored to me as a res- ident. I am extremely grateful to the medi- cal school, the School of Management and Kaleida Health for their investment in my training. When I heard about this oppor- tunity, I knew it was too good to pass up." Schwaitzberg notes that while the first student is a surgical resident, the program is applicable across a wide range of clini- cal specialties in medicine and health care. "Defining and delivering the 'win-win' was key to generating support for the pro- gram," he says. x Watch a video about the program at bit.ly/ubmedicalmba " This program has been uniquely tailored to me as a resident. When I heard about this opportunity, I knew it was too good to pass up." Rafael Perez, DO UB surgical resident and MBA student Above: Perez completes patient rounds and interacts with his MBA colleagues in class in the Alfiero Center. Photo: Douglas Levere

• Cover