Pediatric nephrology division chief addresses downstream revenue and grows healthcare perspective

At a certain point in their careers, many physicians want to make an impact on healthcare greater than the singular patient sitting in front of them in the exam room. To lead this kind of change in medicine, physicians like David Hains, MD'04, MBA’23, recognize the need for greater business acumen and enroll in the Physician MBA Program at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

In fact, Dr. Hains is already putting the degree to use in his first year of the program. He’s working on a project to better define the financials of his work as the division chief of pediatric nephrology at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health and the Byron P. & Frances D. Hollett Professor of Pediatric Nephrology at the IU School of Medicine, his alma mater.

“If I see a patient in clinic and order labs or send the patient to surgery, the patient’s visit to the clinic is the only item that goes on the books for pediatric nephrology. That credit is small, but our overall value as a program is big,” said Dr. Hains.

He is working with Amrou Awayseh, associate professor of operations management at the Kelley School, to examine the value a physician generates in different areas of the healthcare system. They seek to better capture the downstream revenue physicians create when interacting in a complex medical environment, like a tertiary pediatric care center.

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