One Physician’s Exciting Journey from Clinician to Executive Entrepreneur

Interview with Dr. Heather Signorelli – Episode 424

In this interview, Dr. Heather Signorelli describes how she transitioned quickly from pathologist to nonclinical executive entrepreneur.

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After finishing her pathology fellowship, Dr. Signorelli moved directly into hospital administration, eventually overseeing laboratory operations for close to 200 hospitals.

Later, while still working full time, she and her husband identified a critical problem facing private practice physicians. That led them to create NatRevMD, a medical billing company that now serves hundreds of physicians nationwide with a team of over 70 people.

Our Episode Sponsor

If you’re a physician with at least 5 years of experience looking for a flexible, nonclinical, part-time medical-legal consulting role…

…Dr. Armin Feldman’s Medical Legal Coaching program will guarantee to add $100K in additional income within 12 months without doing any expert witness work. Any doctor in any specialty can do this work. And if you don’t reach that number, he’ll work with you for free until you do, guaranteed.

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• Dr. David exceeded his clinical income without sacrificing time in his full-time position.

• Dr. Anke retired from her practice while generating the same monthly consulting income. 

• And Dr. Elliott added meaningful consulting work without lowering his clinical income or job satisfaction.

So, if you’re a physician with 5+ years of experience and you want to find out exactly how to add $100K in additional consulting income in just 12 months, go to arminfeldman.com.

Our Sponsor

This podcast is sponsored by the Physician Executive MBA Program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business.

Thinking about a nonclinical career path? In just one year, our physician-only MBA gives you the business and leadership skills to pivot, whether into administration, consulting, entrepreneurship, or beyond.

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For Podcast Listeners

• John hosts a short weekly Q&A session on topics related to physicians’ careers and leadership. Each discussion is posted for you to review and apply. Sometimes, all it takes is one insight to take you to the next level of your career. Check out the Weekly Q&A and join us for only $5.00 monthly.
• If you want access to dozens of lessons dedicated to nonclinical and unconventional clinical careers, you should join the Nonclinical Career Academy MemberClub. For a small monthly fee, you can access the Weekly Q&A Sessions AND as many lessons and courses as you wish. Click the link to check it out, and use the Coupon Code “FIRSTMONTHFIVE” to get your first month for only $5.00.

Becoming an Executive Entrepreneur

Growing up with a father who ran his own OB-GYN practice for 30 years, and a mother who ran hospitals, gave Heather insights into both clinical and business operations. She recognized that many physicians struggle with the business side of private practice, particularly with financial metrics and revenue cycle management. 

She learned more management and executive leadership skills while building her career as the Chief Laboratory Officer, then VP and Chief Medical Officer, for the Laboratory Division of a national hospital system with almost 200 sites.

Improving Practice Incomes

During our interview, she identified three critical areas where practices often lose money:

1. Front office staff failing to verify insurance eligibility and collect upfront payments,
2. Not understanding denial patterns and their root causes, and
3. Lacking meaningful metrics to track.

Key warning signs that a practice needs better billing support include not receiving regular metrics or denial reports, and accounts receivable over 90 days exceeding 25-30%. Addressing these issues can quickly take a practice from struggling to thriving.

Building a Business Without Traditional Marketing

NatRevMD grew organically through the NatRevMD Podcast rather than traditional marketing. It now serves hundreds of physicians with a team of over 70. The NatRevMD Podcast focuses on educating physicians about business fundamentals they were never taught in training.

Don’t be afraid to take the leap into entrepreneurship. – Heather Signorelli

Heather emphasizes that the first year or two of any entrepreneurial venture are simply hard, regardless of what you start. Success comes from getting through that initial period, generating sufficient revenue, hiring the right people, and learning to delegate effectively. She warns against growing too fast. In her case, that meant limiting new clients to one per month to ensure proper onboarding while hiring and traiining staff to serve them.

SUMMARY