Thriving Practice with Tracy Cherpeski

Hosted by Tracy Cherpeski

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100

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Top 5% globally ranked podcast for healthcare practice owners. Prevent burnout, grow profitably. 215+ episodes, 51 countries. Welcome to Thriving Practice - the business podcast that proves independent physicians, dentists, therapists, and healthcare practice owners can build profitable, efficient practices while actually enjoying their lives. By the Numbers: 215+ episodes featuring top-tier practice owners and healthcare business experts Global Top 5% ranking on Listen Notes among all podcasts 51 countries reached globally 9 seasons of proven practice management strategies Weekly episodes with actionable insights you can implement immediately Hosted by Tracy Cherpeski, MBA, MA, CPSC - executive coach, business consultant, and CME-approved educator with 15+ years specializing in healthcare practice consulting. Tracy brings you successful practice owners, industry experts, and medical association leaders, all united in helping private practices stay private and thrive. Subscribe now and join our community at ThrivingPracticeCommunity.com for ongoing support from practice leaders who've been where you are.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 28, 2026Episode 29139 min

More Hands Don't Fix a Broken Process: Practice Operations Featuring Ginger Hilton, EP 291

Most practice owners know their patient volume. Far fewer know their denial rate, cash on hand, or what a credentialing delay is costing them this month. In this episode, Tracy Cherpeski talks with Ginger Hilton, founder of Nautilus Operations Consulting, about the operational foundations that keep an independent medical practice profitable and the owner out of the weeds. Ginger spent 15 years inside healthcare offices, working every role from medical assistant to office manager before launching her consulting practice. She walks through the numbers every owner should track, what an operational foundation actually includes, the difference between an office manager and a fractional COO, and why you should never automate a workflow you haven't cleaned up first. You'll also hear the two biggest misconceptions practice owners have about operations, including why more hands don't fix a broken process, and the one condition that has to be true before any operations help can work: a real willingness to delegate. Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

October 23, 2026Episode 29015 min

You Don't Have to Give Up Your General Practice to Find Your Niche – A Special SNACK Episode, EP 290

Most independent practices start by saying yes to every patient and every service the license allows. Over time, that yes can stretch the schedule, the staff, and the marketing so thin that no one can name what the practice does best. In this SNACK episode, Miranda Dorta turns the mic around and interviews Tracy Cherpeski about narrowing a niche. Tracy shares why she moved from generalist coach to working exclusively with independent healthcare practice owners, the fears that came up along the way, and what she'd tell an owner who says they can't afford to turn patients away. You'll hear how a general practice can add a specialty without giving up current patients, the early signs a practice may be offering too many services, and why your numbers should come before your fear. Tracy also explains how blocking time in the schedule protects your focus and why your front desk team should manage the calendar. Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

October 21, 2026Episode 28940 min

Practice Automation Isn't About Replacing Staff—It's About Keeping Them Featuring Jeremy Hummer, EP 289

What if the reason your practice is burning out isn't broken people—it's a broken system? In this episode, Tracy Cherpeski sits down with Jeremy Hummer, SVP of Strategic Partnerships and Growth at Certified Health, a practice automation platform that's been quietly solving this problem for healthcare systems and group practices for over 12 years. Jeremy comes from hospitality, not healthcare IT—and that changes everything. Certified Health started by helping enterprises consolidate patient identity across thousands of locations using biometrics. But Jeremy realized the real insight: automation isn't about replacing staff. It's about freeing them from paperwork and repetitive data entry so they can actually connect with patients. In this episode, you'll hear about the 'training hamster wheel'—the invisible cost of staff turnover that most practices don't calculate—and why the biggest fear about AI and automation completely misses the point. Tracy and Jeremy discuss real implementation challenges, the importance of stakeholder buy-in before deploying any technology, and how to think like hospitality instead of IT when designing patient experience. Plus: how multi-location practices can unify workflows across disparate EMR systems without expensive replacements. Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

October 14, 2026Episode 28845 min

A Kiosk Won't Fix a Broken Process: What a Former Chef Knows About Practice Technology Featuring Aaron Westphal, EP 288

Will a patient check-in kiosk cost your practice the human touch, or give it back? In this episode, Tracy Cherpeski talks with Aaron Westphal, president of Kiosk Group, about self-service technology for independent healthcare practices. Aaron started in professional kitchens, and he explains why a good kiosk setup works like a well-run line: many stations, one plate. He and Tracy cover how kiosks connect with your EHR, why you still need a great front desk, the difference between automation and AI, and why fear of technology can quietly cost a practice time and money. You will also hear how to decide whether your problem is about people, systems or tools, why modular technology can grow with you, and the first question Aaron asks every prospective customer. Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

October 9, 2026Episode 28712 min

Time Off Isn't Time Off If Every Decision Still Runs Through You – A Special SNACK Episode, EP 287

Ask a practice owner when they last took two weeks off without checking in once, and you'll usually get a long pause. In this SNACK episode, Miranda Dorta puts Tracy Cherpeski in the interview seat to talk about what it takes to step away from your practice, with the holidays close enough to make it urgent. A 2024 JAMA Network Open study found that about 70% of the physicians surveyed worked on vacation, and fewer than half had full inbox coverage. Tracy explains why the inbox is only the visible part, and why time off turns into work from a different location when every decision runs through one person. In this episode, you'll hear: Why decision rights come before coverage How to use the ABCD delegation quadrant for team decisions How to test time off with a long weekend before you try a week or two A 10-minute exercise to start this week Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

October 7, 2026Episode 28618 min

Don’t Wait, But Don’t Rush: A Year-End Order of Operations for Practice Owners, EP 286

Exhausted practice owners tend to wait for the holiday break to plan next year, or rush a purchase just to feel like they moved something. Both come from the same place, and both cost more than they seem to. In this solo episode, Tracy Cherpeski shares a year-end order of operations built on one idea: don’t wait, but don’t rush. You’ll hear five steps you can start in November: know your numbers, name whether you have a people, systems, or tool problem, clean up the process before you automate it, choose your tools and partners with a clear head, and give time back to your team and yourself. Tracy also shares a client story about making space for planning first, and previews two November gatherings, including the first look at the Bottleneck Diagnostic. It is also a big month on the show, with Aaron Westphal, Jeremy Hummer, and Ginger Hilton joining Tracy one per week. November Gatherings Community of Practice Gathering: Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern. A structured 90 minutes with questions submitted in advance (or asked in the moment), hot seat coaching, and conversation with fellow practice owners. The Bottleneck Diagnostic is introduced at this gathering. Click to register. MasterMind Gathering: Friday, November 20, 2026, 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Eastern. A popcorn-style conversation with no presentation and no advance questions, led by Tracy. It is a good place to ask about Thriving Practice Community programming and get a feel for how the community works. Click to register. Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

September 30, 2026Episode 28537 min

Some People Own a Business. Some People Own a Job. Featuring Mike Milligan, EP 285

What's the most important financial document a practice owner will ever have? It's not a mutual fund, a will, or a trust — according to this episode's guest, it's a written financial plan. Tracy Cherpeski sits down with Mike Milligan, founder of One Oak Financial, a B Corp certified firm that works with high-income earners, especially physicians and practice owners. Mike spent his early career on Wall Street before building a firm around impact over profit. In this conversation, he draws a sharp line between practices that are thriving and practices that are just surviving, and explains why some people own a business while others just own a job. They also dig into money scripts, why taxes may be the biggest expense practice owners never address, and how a written plan can keep you from making decisions out of fear when the market gets shaky. If you've been meaning to have the money conversation but keep putting it off, this one's for you. Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

September 25, 2026Episode 2847 min

Is Your Practice Really HIPAA Compliant? A Real Talk – a Special SNACK Episode, EP 284

Ninety-eight percent of small practices believe they're HIPAA compliant. Far fewer actually are — and that gap tends to sit quietly until an audit, a complaint, or a breach forces it open. In this SNACK episode, Miranda Dorta turns the mic on Tracy Cherpeski for an unscripted conversation about the compliance question providers ask quietly after everything else has been covered: how do I actually know if I'm in compliance? They talk through why so many providers wait until something goes wrong, the one area practices most often assume they've got covered (and usually haven't), and why “better safe than sorry” beats “no news is good news” every time. Tracy also shares a simple, low-cost first step any provider can take today — no big budget required. Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Podcast Episode With Compliance Expert Dr. Natasha Guess: Don’t Wait for the Audit: Three Compliance Gaps Hiding in Your Practice Featuring Dr. Natasha Guess, EP 270 Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

September 23, 2026Episode 28337 min

The Wheels Fall Off at Every Stage: Lessons From Scaling to 24 Practices Featuring Dr. Corey Malnikof, EP 283

What does it actually take to go from one struggling clinic to 24 locations? In this episode, Tracy Cherpeski talks with Corey Malnikof, founder of Palmer Care Group, about the real story behind scaling a multi-location healthcare practice — starting with the month he nearly lost everything before he found the systems that changed his trajectory. Corey shares the financial test he uses with every practice owner who asks about opening a second location, the stages of growth where "the wheels fall off," and why Palmer Care Group intentionally paused expansion at 24 clinics to build stronger infrastructure. He also opens up about the hardest responsibility he's ever had to hand off as a founder, and how coaching and mentorship shaped nearly every decision along the way. Whether you're considering your first expansion or you're already managing multiple locations, this conversation offers grounded, tested guidance on systems, delegation, and building a team you can trust. Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

September 16, 2026Episode 28236 min

Brand Before You Market: What Independent Practices Get Backward About Growth Featuring Ashley Gay, EP 282

What if your biggest marketing problem isn't actually a marketing problem? In this episode, Tracy Cherpeski sits down with Ashley Gay — founder of Digital Ash Agency and a fierce champion of the independent practitioner — to talk about why branding is the foundation every growth strategy has to be built on. Ashley brings a perspective that's both professional and deeply personal: as the spouse of a surgeon, she's watched the burnout and disillusionment that comes when physicians work incredibly hard but haven't built the infrastructure to support sustainable growth. Her mission is to help independent practitioners build their dream practices the right way, from the ground up. In this conversation, you'll hear why branding and marketing are not the same thing (and why getting them out of order is expensive), how convenience has become your biggest competitor, why your brand is already being built by every phone call and parking experience — and what to do about it. Plus: why your brand isn't just a patient acquisition strategy. It's a talent acquisition strategy. Read the full show notes, memorable quotes, and key takeaways. Connect With Us: Be a Guest on the Show Thriving Practice Community Schedule Strategy Session with Tracy Tracy’s LinkedIn Business LinkedIn Page

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