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Three essentials for practice survival in the coming decade
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Over the years, a number of physician colleagues have wondered out loud whether earning an executive MBA would help them better future-proof their practices. To be sure, earning an MBA would deliver knowledge and context that would be useful to running any business, but physicians who want a secure future might do even better just to consider three concepts that are likely to be essential for medical practice success in the future.
1. Surround yourself with talent. Whether it’s a spouse, a full-time employee or a hired consultant, having experience in your corner can help you negotiate insurance contracts, evaluate your own practice against benchmarks, address increasingly complex employee issues and think strategically about your business. Successful larger practices usually have both internal and external experts, combining institutional knowledge with an outside eye to best represent the practice’s interests. Chances are, if physicians alone are the only brains guiding the business, there’s a shortfall somewhere of objectivity and experience needed to make the best decisions.
2. Grow. In most established markets, corporate medicine and managed care are growing in influence. The solo practitioner will one day become a relic of an age when independent physicians could afford to run their own practices. Consolidation of primary care is already happening in most bigger cities, and surgical specialties are soon to follow. Those who recognize this trend and prepare by forming larger groups are likely to be most relevant in the changing local medical marketplace.
3. Differentiate your practice. Patients love subspecialists, and so do large medical organizations. Having practitioners with a particularly honed skill, especially if they can point to special training or accolades, carries special value. Offering a specialty clinic for unique risk populations (diabetes, autoimmune disease) stands out as a must-have practice in any physician directory. Whether you hire or join with doctors who have niche interests, your practice adds value to a panel when it has at least one subject matter expert. The more the better. Isn’t specialization the reason why so many patients seek out university practices for care?
Lastly, reading articles (like this one!) about the business of medicine won’t substitute for an MBA but can give everyone an at-home background in the changing medical economic environment. The Wall Street Journal is one good source. Web newsletters are valuable, too. You will be surprised how often you call upon the knowledge gained through reading the news as you think about strategy for the future of your own practice.