By Dita De Boni
Disenchantment with the medical Establishment and a passion for the health of Kiwi women gave rise to the medical mini-empire of Dr John Harman.
The flamboyant physician, recently named Entrepreneur of the Year in the retail and services category, gave up public hospital surgery in 1987 in frustration with what he calls the conservative and cliquey atmosphere of the of the medical world.
These days, his St Marks group of private healthcare clinics spans both sides of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, employs more than 20 staff and has treated more than 25,000 women.
The aim is to provide what Dr Harman calls a "one-stop breast shop," including plastic surgeons, radiologists, psychologists and physiotherapists.
The original clinic on St Marks Rd boasts a custom-designed database, millions of dollars of cancer diagnostic machinery, a crystal blue swimming pool and all the comforts of home, located on prime Remuera real estate worth $200,000 a year in rent.
The doctor, a champion of user-pays healthcare, has also been awarded a multimillion-dollar Government contract to provide mammograms for women in the Auckland region aged between 50 and 64.
A higher proportion of women in this country die from breast cancer than in any other industrialised nation.
Dr Harman has always been controversial. His analysis of the public health system in New Zealand is damning - "too English, too autocratic, even now it's resistant to change" - and he has had frequent run-ins with feminist groups and, more notably, the Cancer Society, which he enraged by suggesting that female breast self-examination was largely ineffective.
His most recent publicity has created more positive vibrations. The Ernst & Young Services/Retail Entrepreneur of the Year award plaque takes pride of place in reception - an award which, he says, left him "astonished, honoured and pleased as a doctor."
"People have been very negative in this country towards me for many years. They've constantly accused me of making lots of money out of health, and one even accused me of making money from women's illness," he says.
"But the simple fact is that marrying entrepreneurship and health is not a bad thing or a cynical exercise. If we produce profits we can work even harder on better outcomes and further research for the disease."
Rotorua-born Dr Harman, half Fijian and half Scottish, became disenchanted with New Zealand-style public health systems when he visited American hospitals in the early 80s.
"The whole attitude towards medicine was different there. Younger doctors were actually urged to challenge the system. Not only that, but the user-pays system they had there created a direct contract between patient and doctor."
Dr Harman dismisses the argument that not all women can afford that financially elusive contract between patient and doctor. "I'm not a social worker" he says. His overriding concern is being able to give women a level of service they are not used to in public hospitals.
"Along with the conservative medical Establishment, you have a huge problem as [New Zealand] hospitals try to be all things to all people."
Seeing a gap in the market for specialist care and inspired by the work of heart surgeon Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes - "the first Black Magic of medicine" - the solo father of three used a personally guaranteed overdraft to found his state-of-the-art clinic chain at a cost of around $1.4 million.
He started to canvass for colleagues - he wanted a "crack team" - to defect to the private system just as the welfare state started to crumble and private health enterprises were permitted to plug openly for business.
Although many doctors were scathing about his methods, Dr Harman says women themselves - those who could afford it - were happy to pay what has now become $100 to $150 for a preliminary consultation.
"We find our women want quality, service and value for money, and they are prepared to pay extra for those things.
"We can afford to give the women superior service, and with an area of the body so private and sensitive it's very important that, for example, we can provide fast results and comfort all under the one roof."
Dr Harman says he got into the area of mammaries because of the prevalence of breast problems - one woman in four has some sort of breast surgery in her lifetime - and the fact that he found "women patients were much more pleasant to be with than men - men tended to be crybabies when they were unwell."
Dr Harman's right-hand woman, general manager Gillian Cossey, says he drove the creation of New Zealand's first breast clinic through "a passion for women's health and giving women the best deal."
"What John has done is raise the level of service for breast care - not only in the private clinics but also for the women receiving Government-funded free mammograms - with a pure passion for women's health.
"He's not only good medically, but he's also an astute businessman with an entrepreneurial vision and a passion to make things happen."
While Dr Harman remains committed to keeping abreast of breasts, extensions to the clinic on the North Shore will eventually encompass specialists in all areas of women's health, including obstetrics and gynaecology, and expansion into Australia is also in the air.
Like most successful mavericks, Dr Harman enjoys his prominent position and the "good life" that has come from his work.
But if he had to do it again, he says, he might have sought a more nurturing environment than New Zealand.
"On the one hand, it's been wonderful to redesign a new speciality in this country, and there was definitely a need for the services we provide here.
"On the other hand, a lot of my energy has been dissipated dealing with the negatives from people who don't understand that just because my staff and I are well paid, it doesn't mean we are resting on our laurels.
"But here I think we have the freedom to be on the leading edge intellectually and provide a growth environment that can only help our patients.
"My work in New Zealand has been a long-term love affair."
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from Business
NZ film company's $2.25m debts - top international comedian: 'My patience is exhausted'
Production company's managing director and NZ Film Commission point fingers at each other.