BUILDING SMARTER PRACTICES
In this episode, host David Mandell welcomes Dr. Paul Lynch, a double board-certified anesthesiologist and pain management specialist, entrepreneur, and business leader. Dr. Lynch shares his remarkable journey from aspiring psychiatrist to pain medicine innovator—a shift inspired by his mother-in-law’s battle with cancer and the discovery of interventional pain treatments that could transform patients’ lives. His early experiences at the Mayo Clinic shaped his belief in comprehensive, integrated care—a philosophy that became the foundation for his first practice, Arizona Pain, which quickly became one of the nation’s leading pain management centers.
(Video Available December 10, 2025 at 6 AM Eastern)
Dr. Lynch details how entrepreneurial thinking, coupled with strategic use of digital tools, drove his success. His story of launching a medical website during fellowship—eventually ranking number one on Google before opening his doors—illustrates how physicians can use education-based marketing to reach patients and grow responsibly. As his career evolved, Dr. Lynch founded U.S. Pain Care, intentionally designed to avoid the mistakes of his first venture. Through introspection and what he calls his “Manifesto of 53 Errors,” he now builds companies around lessons learned, focusing on empowering other physicians with ownership, autonomy, and ethical profitability.
The discussion also delves into real estate, private equity, and long-term business strategy in medicine. Dr. Lynch explains how owning medical real estate can be one of the most impactful and ethical ways for physicians to build wealth—separate from clinical care—highlighting the benefits of property ownership, long-term leasing, and physician-owned REITs. He closes with advice to doctors: never make fortunes “on the backs of patients.” Instead, focus on providing excellent care while building wealth through smart business decisions, integrity, and surrounding yourself with expert advisors in law, finance, and real estate.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Build on Lessons Learned: Dr. Lynch’s success came not from perfection, but from reflecting on and correcting past mistakes, documenting them to guide better business practices in future ventures.
- Own the Assets that Support Your Work: Physicians can ethically increase their financial security through ownership of real estate and related infrastructure, separating profitability from direct patient billing.
- Lead Ethically and Strategically: True success in medicine comes from doing right by patients while building sustainable, well-structured business systems and teams guided by expert advisors.
INSIGHTS:
- A personal family tragedy led Dr. Lynch to shift from psychiatry to pain management, blending psychological and physical healing.
- Training at the Mayo Clinic inspired his model for integrated, multidisciplinary patient care.
- Early success came through education-driven SEO—his website became the top Google result before his practice opened.
- The rapid growth of Arizona Pain taught him the value of operational structure and expert support.
- Creating a “Manifesto of 53 Errors” helped him design U.S. Pain Care with systems to prevent prior missteps.
- He emphasizes hiring experts early—attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors—to scale responsibly.
- His new business model favors physician empowerment and minority ownership, avoiding traditional private equity pitfalls.
- Lynch promotes real estate ownership as a major source of long-term physician wealth and independence.
- Through expert witness work, he developed a parallel revenue stream that sharpened his understanding of medical standards and legal frameworks.
- His core philosophy: prioritize patient care, run your business ethically, and success will naturally follow.