Michael Koriwchak, M.D., is the ear, nose and throat (ENT) physician whom other ENT doctors turn to for help with complex cases. He writes award-winning code. He works in the highest circles of national healthcare policy. And he’s an accomplished executive with ENT of Atlanta.
Despite those lofty accomplishments, Koriwchak turns the focus to others when asked about effective leadership.
“No one has the moral authority to lead without the consent of the followers. Act with that thought in mind,” he said.
Don’t be afraid to show weakness. Admit mistakes. Ask subordinates for advice. Let your opinions and beliefs evolve as you learn new information over time, he said.
“Donate lots of time after work to get to know people. Enjoy them. Laugh and cry with them,” Koriwchak said.
Koriwchak is managing partner at Ear, Nose and Throat of Atlanta, a group of otolaryngology specialists and audiologists providing ENT care. “Our providers have been serving the Greater Metro Atlanta area for over 20 years,” the company said. “We treat patients from infancy to adulthood using the latest treatments and technologies to ensure the highest quality of care. We are the largest privately owned ENT group in Georgia.”
Koriwchak trained at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for seven years in otolaryngology with a fellowship in laryngology and care of the professional voice. He came to Atlanta in 1995 and filled a niche in ENT care. He tackled a number of challenging cancer cases in private practice and also developed a voice practice, which cares for some well-known entertainers. Koriwchak became one of the busiest thyroid surgeons in the Southeast, performing more than 2,000 thyroid operations over the course of about 20 years.
More recently, Koriwchak has specialized in challenging airway cases, including cases of airway obstruction after chemotherapy and radiation therapy for head and neck cancer and scarring of the upper airway. “I have become known as the physician that gets referred challenging cases from other ENT doctors,” Koriwchak said.
Koriwchak wrote code from scratch to create templates and workflows to build electronic medical records for the entire ENT organization. That work won the E-Technology Award in Georgia in 2008.
Koriwchak has served as vice president of the Docs4PatientCare Foundation. The foundation works to advance a number of ideas in medicine, including direct primary care and health information technology policy reform. The organization has been advising legislators and the White House since 2010, and it works with healthcare policy think tanks. “We emphasize a non-partisan, non-confrontational approach to healthcare policy,” Koriwchak said.
