John Zelem, MD, FACS Dr. Zelem’s career is the perfect example of the concept holism; each part has affected the whole, but no part was more important than the whole of his career. Everything that he has learned and accomplished has led to the progress of the next stage. Not every step was positive, but every step contributed positively.

With his background in Medicare and Medicaid regulations and regulatory compliance he has helped to improve Utilization Review processes insuring appropriate level of care determinations. In addition he has provided physician education focusing on documentation improvement, aided in denial management leading to denial prevention. Dr. Zelem has developed many physician advisor programs, interviewed and on-boarded physician advisors, and managed a team of 14 physician advisors around the country and is presently serving as a part-time physician advisor for two critical access hospitals. With this knowledge and experience he has helped minimize inappropriate medical necessity denials and achieving appropriate lengths of stay in acute care hospitals and health systems.

Dr. Zelem has provided many seminars and presentations on various healthcare and clinical revenue cycle topics and has served on numerous governing boards and committees and is a renowned industry author. Presently he is a speaker for Monitor Mondays, and Talk Ten Tuesdays, part of MedLearn Publishing.

Dr. Zelem’s career is the perfect example of the concept holism; each part has affected the whole, but no part was more important than the whole of his career. Everything that he has learned and accomplished has led to the progress of the next stage. Not every step was positive, but every step contributed positively.

It started with more than 26 years of clinical practice in general surgery. Yet, it wasn’t just about performing surgery. It involved learning and mastering other skills, such as teaching, training corporate sales staff, product development, providing presentations especially in the motivational speaking arena, gaining people skills, learning and mentoring new surgical procedures around the world, becoming a noted author, and management and leadership principles.

As he made that transition from the clinical side to healthcare executive leadership he developed expertise in compliance, contracts and regulations, utilization review, case management, client relations, and physician education. At one point he was responsible for helping clients with new and existing utilization management programs to improve their processes positively affecting revenue cycle while maintaining compliant practices. He was responsible for the development and improvement of existing and newly formed physician advisor programs, with continued mentoring, management, and education.

There are two words that highlight the holistic approach taken:

• Standardization
• Accountability

Without these, sustainability may be challenged.

Dr. Zelem can help take an organization to the next level. Follow him on Talk Ten Tuesdays, LinkedIn, and other venues.