According to Len Strazewski “the number of physicians working in a private practice is falling, partially because of these challenges, with 49.1% of doctors either owning or working in a physician-owned practice (AMA, 2022).”
The difficulties of balancing clinical responsibilities with administrative work, such as coding and prior authorization, employee turnover, continued reduction in reimbursement by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has been cited by many small to medium sized physician practices as reasons they are closing their practices.
Small to medium -size practices expressed frustration with navigating insurance contracts with private insurance and third-party administrators. In most instances, doctor-owned practices sometimes did not have the resources to negotiate contracts. For practices that do not employ trained practice administrators, typically a person with an education background in business administration, the physician may attempt to negotiate with the insurance carriers at a disadvantage.
Patients today are more mobile, with more choices, than at any other time in history. On the whole, this is a positive thing: people are more engaged in their own care, more educated about their options, and more invested in obtaining the best possible outcomes for themselves and their families, The flip side is that practices now need to work harder than ever to earn the loyalty of their patients. If physicians are not paying attention their practices may be losing patients.
If your practice is spending more money that it is taking in on a consistent basis, it may be time to think about selling your practice. It is better to be proactive and shop your practice before it is to late. Hospitals and Investment firms are increasingly purchasing primary care practices. In some cases, they employ the principal of the practice. The beauty of this is that the acquiring company is responsible for all of the day-to-today operations and funding all aspects of the practice.
Dr. Keith D. Brady
