Herschel Lessin 
Vice President | The Children's Medical Group PLLC
Poughkeepsie, NY, UNITED STATES
Funny, engaging speaker on children's health, medical missions, immunizations, medical economics, medical liability, & healthcare policy,
Biography
Dr. Lessin has been a practicing Pediatrician since 1982. He received his Doctor of Medicine from Stanford University in Palo Alto California and completed three years of Pediatric Residency training at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Before founding The Children's Medical Group (CMG), a practice of 24 pediatricians practicing in 8 offices and caring for more than 32,000 childre, Dr. Lessin was managing partner of the Hudson Valley Pediatric Group. At CMG, he has served as both the Medical Director and the Director of Clinical Research. Dr. Lessin was also a founding member of the Taconic IPA and served as its Chairman for 14 years. That organization now boasts over 3000 physician members serving over 150,000 patients. Dr, Lessin has broad media experience in radio, print, television and internet venues in which he provides patient education and was a member of the National Association of Medical Communicators. He appeared as host of "Kidstuff" on local radio for more than 15 years, was the author of "Pediatrician on Call" in a regional newspaper for 10 years, has appeared on local and regional television, and has written broadly on health information portals and blogs. Dr. Lessin is active on a national level in the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), serving as a member of the national Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, which reviews and comments upon all national AAP policies prior to publication. He is co-lead author of the national AAP policy on Immunization Coverage published and the upcoming statement on Immunizing Adult Caregivers in the Pediatric Office. He lectures nationally at AAP conferences and has been an invited speaker at multiple institutions and meetings, garnering outstanding audience reviews. Dr. Lessin is a media spokesperson for the AAP and has been quoted in The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NY Times and the the Associated Press. He has gone on more than a dozen medical mission trips to under-developed countries including Vietnam, Honduras, Guatemala, and Ghana. He has presented to the medical staff at multiple children's hospitals in Vietnam. For 25 years he has has served as an expert consultant in Medical Malpractice litigation for both Plaintiff and Defense. He is board certified in Pediatrics and in Pediatric Advanced Life Support.
Industry Expertise (10)
Health Care - Services
Public Policy
Health Care - Providers
Pharmaceuticals
Legal Services
Non-Profit/Charitable
Medical/Dental Practice
Management Consulting
Childcare
Health Care - Facilities
Areas of Expertise (7)
Medical Practice Management/Economics
Medical Liability
Immunization Policy/Economics
Medical Mission Volunteer
Pediatric Healthcare Topics
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Healthcare Policy/Aco's
Accomplishments (13)
Medical Director, The Children's Medical Group, PLLC (professional)
Responsible for developing Quality Improvement processes and clinical protocols. Also conducts audits and supervises in-house CME for phyicians and other clinical staff.
Director of Clinical Research, The Children's Medical Group (professional)
Responsible for over-seeing all clinical research activities at the group, supervising study co-ordinators and staff, interfacing with study sponsors. I have been a principal investigator on more than 2 dozen clinical studies
Senior Consultant, The Verden Group (professional)
The Verden Group,is a full service practice management and medical business consulting group serving physician practices, hospitals, corporations, and other healthcare organizations. I consult on an independent contractor basis.
Certified Managed Care Executive, America's Health Insurance Plans (professional)
Graduate of year-long Executive Leadership Program of America's Health Insurance Plans. Via mentoring, site visits, didactic sessions and hands on experience, the CMCE is immersed and trained in the cutting edge of managed care.
International Medical Mission Vounteer Physician (personal)
Over the past decade, I have gone on about a dozen medical mission trips providing free medical care to indigent patients and education to local physicians including trips to Vietnam, Honduras, Ghana, Guatemala, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.
Board of Directors, MVP Healthcare (professional)
MVP Healthcare is a regional not for profit health care insurance holding company comprised of multiple subsidiary corporations including MVP Health Plan, Rochester Area HMO, and multiple MVP corporations. Resulted from acquisition of Preferred Care HMO by MVP. Board is responsible for the operations of all subsidiary corporations and covers more than 650,000 lives with total annual premium revenue of nearly $3 billion.
Founding Member and Chairman of the Taconic Independent Practice Association (professional)
TIPA contracts with managed care organizations to provide physician services to the contracted plan’s subscribers. With over 3000 physician members, TIPA is one of the larger IPA’s in the United States and provides care for over 150,000 plan subscribers.
Founding Partner, The Children's Medical Group, PLLC (professional)
A founding partner of this large group practice that resulted from the merger of Pediatric and Adolescent Associates (est.1932) and the Hudson Valley Pediatric Group (est. 1954). Through planned growth and expansion, the group now has 21 pediatricians and 3 pediatric nurse practitioners, providing care for nearly 32,000 children in eight Hudson Valley offices. The group sees about 110,000 patient visits per year and is one of the larger single specialty Pediatric groups in the USA.
Editorial Board, Practice Management Online, American Academy of Pediatrics (professional)
Makes editorial decisions on this extensive Practice Management resource for physicians hosted on the AAP website
Executive Committee, Section on Administration and Practice Management, American Academy of Pediatrics (professional)
This section is tasked with education physicians about Practice Management Issues and advising the AAP of the impact its policies have on practicing pediatricians.
Member, Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics (professional)
This national level committee is responsible for reviewing and issuing practice policies and guidelines on behalf of the AAP for US pediatricians.
Invited Speaker at Multiple Regional, State, and Local Medical Meetings, including Children's National Med. Ctr. in Wash. DC, Arizona AAP Mtg., Pediatric Guru's Meeting, Skytop, PA among many others (professional)
Speaker on various topics concerning Practice Management, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Economics, Vaccine economics, Caring for Pediatric Chronic Disease
Invited Speaker, American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition 2008-current (professional)
Speaker on various topics concerning Practice Management, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare Economics, Vaccine economics, Vaccine Policy, International Medical Missions, Caring for Pediatric Chronic Disease
Education (3)
Stanford University School of Medicine: MD, Medicine 1979
Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven CT: Intern and Resident in Pediatrics 1982
Union College, Schenectady NY: BS, Biology 1975
Summa Cum Laude
Affiliations (11)
- Editorial Advisory Board, Practice Management Online
- The American Academy of Pediatrics
- Executive Committee AAP Section on Administration and Practice Management
- Senior Consultant, The Verden Group
- AAP Immunization Policy Subcommittee
- Expert consultant on Medical Malpractice
- AAP Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine
- Vice President and Practicing Pediatrician, The Children's Medical Group
- Dutchess County Medical Society
- Certified Managed Care Executive, America's Health Insurance Plans
- NYS Medical Society
Links (5)
Event Appearances (8)
Title
Arizona Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics, Practice Management and Vaccine Economics Phoenix, AZ
2010-11-13
Title
Physicians Practice Live Virtual Conference and Exhibition Internet Streaming
2011-04-27
Title
Buffalo Pediatric Society. Avoiding common business problems Buffalo, NY
2010-03-10
Title
Children's National Medical Center Annual Practice Management Conference Bethesda, MD
2009-10-18
Title
Physician Time Management, Physicians Practice Magazine Management Seminar Maimonides Medical Center, Bronx NY
2009-05-21
Title
Pysicians Computer Corporation Annual Users Conference Burlington, VT
2007-07-19
Title
AAP National Conference and Exhibition 2008 - 2012 Various locations (San Francisco, Boston, New Orleans, Orlando)
Title
13th Annual Pediatric Guru's Conference, Goryeb Childrens Hospital Skytop Lodge, Skytop, PA
2011-06-03
Sample Talks (5)
Developing Market Power: A discussion of Practice Aggregation Models
Given the rapid pace of healthcare refore and the changing health care marketplace, Private medical practices are going to be forced to aggregate into larger entities in order to compete. Various models of aggregating practices are discussed.
ADHD: Why does my child behave this way and how do I stop it?
An overview of the symptoms, diagnosis, physiology, and treatment of ADHD. Can be aimed at either parents or professionals
"Omigod!! I'm Being Sued"
An overview of how to handle the day you get your first subpoena and the structure and process of medical practice litigation. What to do and what not to do.
ACO's and Healthcare Reform: What's a Doctor to do?
A review of the ACO concept and some things physicians might think about before joining one.
Extreme Practice Makeover: Survival in the new healthcare marketplace
A review of practice management, economics, health care policy and what to do and not to do to navigate the changing world of healthcare
Style
Availability
- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Host/MC
- Author Appearance
Social