What Lou Holtz can teach physicians about thank-you notes

Legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz once sent a handwritten thank-you note to a physician he had never met, and it stuck.

On this week’s Five Minute Practice, Neil Baum, M.D., draws on that encounter to make the case for why thank-you notes are one of the simplest and most underused tools physicians have for building lasting relationships with patients, colleagues and staff.

Welcome to Five Minute Practice Fix, featuring instructional videos by physician and business of medicine expert Neil Baum, M.D. These videos are 5 to 10 minutes in length and will provide practical ideas and suggestions that have been tested in his practice or used by other physicians that significantly improve the efficiency and productivity of their medical practices.

About Neil Baum, M.D.

Neil Baum is a professor of clinical urology at Tulane Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Baum is the author of Marketing Your Clinical Practice-Ethically, Effectively, and Economically, which is in its fourth edition, has sold over 175,000 copies and has been translated into Spanish. He has also written The Complete Business Guide to a Successful Medical Practice, which was published in 2015. He has written a book, What’s Going on Down There?, which has served as a guide for women’s health. He has written 10 books on practice management and the business of medicine.

Baum was the columnist for American Medical News for more than 25 years. Baum wrote the popular column “The Bottom Line” for Urology Times for more than 20 years. He has authored or co-authored over 250 articles that have appeared in peer-reviewed medical publications on various urologic topics, as well as articles on practice management.

Baum has published a book, The Business Basics of Building and Managing a Healthcare Practice (Springer 2019), which emphasizes the importance of being involved in the business of a medical practice.