A 2011 graduate of the Naveen Jindal School of Management’s Alliance for Physician Leadership MBA program has been named chairman of the board of directors of U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. (USAP). With more than 4,500 clinicians located in eight states, USAP is one of the nation’s largest physician-owned practice groups, serving more than 2 million patients annually.
Dr. Scott Holliday, D.O., has been a USAP board member for 10 years. He also serves as chairman of the North Texas Clinical Governance Board (CGB) and is a member of the USAP Clinical Operations Committee. His appointment as chairman of the board of directors is effective Jan. 1.
“Scott has been an impressive leader, both locally at his practice in North Texas and at the USAP enterprise level,” said Dr. Derek Schoppa, USAP board member and chairman of USAP’s Clinical Operations Committee. “He will become the first USAP physician to chair the board of directors.”
APL is a graduate business program in healthcare leadership and management designed exclusively for physicians. It was started in 1998 by Dr. John McCracken, a clinical professor in the Executive Education Area at the Jindal School and ALP’s past director. While he continues to teach, Don Taylor has stepped into the role of program director.
“This program is very successful,” McCracken said. “Since the first graduating class in 2000, the program has graduated more than 550 physicians in senior healthcare leadership positions in more than 30 states.”
Although APL has done no marketing, its reputation has been shared with others by its graduates. There is now a two-year waiting list to attend.
McCracken describes his former student as one of the physicians he will always remember and respect.
“Scott is one of those rare physicians who is respected both as a clinical and an organizational leader,” he said. “He has an active intellect and is always open to new ideas. He is also a genuinely nice guy. In my 23 years as executive director of the Alliance, he is one of docs I will always remember and respect.”
Holliday chose to attend the Jindal School because of its strong academic reputation as well as the MBA program’s flexibility, including offering in-person and online classes as well as weekend modules.
“I am sincerely appreciative of the opportunity to have advanced my education from a talented faculty at UT Dallas,” he said. “John McCracken was a tremendous faculty mentor to me. His shared industry experiences and depth of academic knowledge have stayed with me throughout my management career.”
One of the things Holliday learned in APL was that one of the most important traits of a leader is to be an active listener and an effective communicator.
“As a physician, I was interested in learning the language of business and management; i.e., accounting, finance, economics and operations,” he said. “I jokingly now say that I am bilingual, fluent in both business and medicine.”
Holiday’s goals as chairman of the board for USAP include helping the organization’s plans to advance its commitment to being a data-driven medical practice.
“That ultimately results in higher quality care, improves patient outcomes and lowers and overall cost of healthcare delivery,” he said. “The healthcare space is an ever-changing environment so strategic initiatives and priorities will certainly evolve over time.”
