| Do you have a Practice Plan? |
| Friday, October 17, 2008 |
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My most successful clients call me in several times during their careers, particularly when they are planning major changes.
These visionary physicians engage me for a 3- or 4-day consultation. We spend the majority of our time discussing their philosophical plan for the future of their practice and the practical steps to keep them on course to realize their dream.
Primarily we discuss the growth of the practice. Should he or she hire an associate to become a partner? Should they take add more partners? What is the upper limit to the number of partners? Should they expand the office? Should they buy a building? Do they have a buy-in formula? Does it match the buy out?
How many years does my client want to actively treat patients? When will he or she stop performing surgery and /or procedures? How will that affect the practice and its value? Who will take over the practice when he or she retires? Will the founding physician always receive an income from the practice? What benefits will continue after retirement? Who will take over the administration of the practice?
We plan the succession as best we can by considering the short term and long term cost/benefit ratio of each scenario. Which leads to an informed decision.
Lesson: You spend many years building a practice that treats patients well. If you have a practice plan that parallels your patient treatment plans, your rewards can perpetuate and multiply.
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| Author Bio |
Yvonne Mart Fox
Ms. Fox, a practice management consultant since 1978, specializes in startup practices, advising physicians who are joining, buying, selling, or merging a practice, wanting to increase income and practice efficiency or looking for a partner. She analyzes existing practices with up to four physicians and helps doctors build their practices. She has worked with over 750 physicians in all specialties nationwide. Ms. Fox has written more than 200 articles and columns on practice management and three books, How to Manage the Business Called Private Practice: What They Didn't Teach You in Medical School, How to Start a Private Practice: A Compilation of Reprints and How to Join, Buy or Merge a Physician's Practice. She invites question or comments at her web site, www.yvonnemartfox.com. |
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