UBMD

Graduate students studying management information systems needed some real-world perspective. UBMD could offer real-world opportunities to study its health care delivery systems. Thus, a fruitful partnership with UB's School of Management was launched last spring.

UBMD offered practical business experience this past year to nine students supervised by Raj Sharman, associate professor in management science and systems in the School of Management. According to Tak Nobumoto, UBMD director of operations, "Originally we went in thinking we would get one or two students to help on a certain project, but as we talked about the multitude of projects we're working on in UBMD, we quickly identified at least three projects that we could work on with the students in some way to get their help, but more importantly, to give them a learning opportunity in a health care-related practice."

The projects involved a group purchasing initiative, the development of a business case for the consolidation of the 18 practice plans, and the development of a central referral system for the practice clinics. Three students were assigned to each project, mentored respectively by CFO Michael J. Quinn, general counsel Brigid M. Maloney, and Nobumoto.

During the semester-long program, the student teams worked on identifying obstacles and opportunities, gathering information, interacting with physicians and staff in the practice plans, calculating benefits, negotiating with potential vendors, and gleaning their findings into proposals that they presented to the committees of each project.

"We learned a lot," says Shiben Naik, who contributed to the central referral project and will be graduating in September. "We had a technical experience prior to this, but after this project, I can say that I have a business experience as well. And it was also a launch pad for us to explore areas in the health care sector."

Maloney felt that a particular success of the program was the intensity with which the students studied the initiatives and immersed themselves in the issues facing UBMD. "The questions presented by the students throughout the project forced me to take a step back and think more clearly about the broader purpose of the UBMD consolidation effort," she says. "The thoughtfulness with which they approached the project yielded useful results for all of us. I was delighted to share in their fresh perspective."

Rajesh Ravichandran was grateful for Quinn's mentoring more in actions than words. "The experience was valuable by providing exposure to a few segments in the market right now, which otherwise would have been difficult to experience."

"This project also has achieved such other accomplishments as allowing UBMD to be recognized in the retail community as the largest physicians' group in all of Western New York," Quinn adds.

Nobumoto was impressed with the students' performances, especially since none had any knowledge of health care: "They were all foreign students so they really didn't have much practical experience even going to doctors' offices in this country. Given that, they learned a lot in a short amount of time, which I think will help them should they decide to seek employment in the health care industry. They'll have at least some exposure to the inner workings of a physician practice."

Sameer Halbe, who worked on the consolidation effort, has already stepped into the field, working as an analyst for pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. "The experience gave us a glimpse into the U.S. health care system and the problems related to it," he says. "I intend to embark on a career in health care, helping to reduce health care costs and increase quality by applying innovative approaches."

The new partnership between the School of Management and UBMD appears to be a significant success for all concerned, with subsequent internships on the horizon and more work toward advancing the UBMD initiatives—a learning process from all sides.