Small Groups Make a Large Group

Traditionally, private practices hire medical practitioners fresh out of school, hope their references are accurate, see if they fit into your culture, and then try and fill their schedules with patients. There is also the expensive proposition of building and then opening additional locations. An effort that expends a great deal of time, effort, and money.

A viable, and possibly better alternative is to look at the other practices in the same specialty and start a conversation. Upon identifying a potential small established group, analysis must take place. The practitioners must all have positive attitudes and work ethics along with excellent medical and interpersonal skills. While one might think that one would find everyone on their best behavior, problematic behavior is surprisingly common.

Another piece of the puzzle is making certain that the cultures can meld. For example, if one group has a more authoritarian culture or formal hierarchy than another they may not mix well.

If the conversations and meetings go well, and if the cultures show compatibility, then further steps can be taken. A review of the pain points of the principals and senior management needs to be undertaken so as to consider methods of resolution. These might be decreased revenue, increased overhead, overwhelming bureaucratic, or infrastructure burdens.

This leads to building a relationship where they can become part of a larger organization that will take their pain away and make them stronger while also strengthening the larger group.

From a dollars and cents perspective a new office can easily cost $750,000 to build out as opposed to the lower cost of converting an existing space. The building up of a patient population can take up to a year versus acquiring an existing patient base. In the first year alone, this can create a savings of over $1,400,000.