Guerilla Tactics on Evaluating a Prospective New Practice

By Joseph Casper*

There are two people that I recommend that a Resident or Fellow schedule time with before selecting a prospective practice.

The first person that you need to meet with is the practice administrator. The practice administrator is the individual that is overseeing the management of the practice. They know the good, bad and the ugly components of the practice. A good one will know the detailed practice financial performance, where the needs are for your services, what the partner physicians’ hot buttons are, and become your champion. I have seen multiple instances where the prospective practice appears to be a great opportunity but the practice administrator lacks the knowledge or drive to quickly and effectively integrate you into the practice. This places incentive bonus overachievement targets out of reach and will impact your pocketbook. My recommendation is to ask open-ended questions that give the administrator the opportunity to speak the majority of the time. Ask questions that start with “Share with me…”, “Describe for me…”, and “Tell me…”.

• “Share with me at what practice locations I’ll be seeing most of my patients”?
• “Describe for me how decisions are reached when evaluating new diagnostic equipment”?
• “Tell me how we will work together to grow my patient base”?

By using these question starters, you’ll be amazed the amount of detailed information that you get about a practice. You’ll hopefully get an understanding of the Partners’ temperament and patience, how they react when faced with stressful situations, the practice’s financial position, staff morale, communication, etc...

The second person that you will need to meet with is the clinical leader or head technician. This individual will provide you information on the flow of the practice, what a typical technician work-up consists of, how are they set for staffing, do they use scribes, and how they see you being technically supported when you begin seeing patients. This person can help you immensely in being efficient in the exam lanes. By asking open-ended questions you will quickly learn whether they are understaffed, if the technicians can refract, what the minimum standards are for working up patients, and what are hot buttons when it comes to efficient flow of patients.

• “Share with me what a great morning session of patients looks like”?
• “Describe for me what the technical components are of a typical patient work-up”?
• “Tell me how are we technically staffed right now”?
  

Be observant… Suppose you plan to meet the clinical supervisor at 12 p.m. only to find yourself sitting and waiting to 1:15p. She apologizes that she had to work-up patients this morning and they were trying desperately to recover from an overbooked morning. You might think, “Hey, what a busy practice, this is great!” But you could also question whether this chaos is a regular feature of life in the practice due to poor organization and management.

Never underestimate the importance of personal compatibility. Your work time with colleagues will occupy a significant part of your life, so it’s important that you and they feel comfortable with the relationship on a personal and professional level. Physicians in group practices and practice managers tend not to associate outside the office so you’re not necessarily looking for new best friends here. Just be sure you share similar interests and patient care philosophies, and avoid personality types likely to produce conflicts with yours.

You can often get helpful perspectives from other physicians who have recently joined the practice. The practice’s track record of success in previous recruitment will bode well for your success as well. If these physicians are still in the practice, you can easily arrange time to discuss their experiences and how well the opportunity met their expectations. If recent additions have since left the practice, you should make every effort to contact them. However, don’t assume the practice or the departed physician will necessarily give you an unbiased view of things if the breakup was acrimonious.

Be very careful not to “fall in love” with a practice or its reputation. This sentimentality can lead you to overlook important warning signs. These warning signs often appear in the form of “red flags,” or indications that seem strange, unusual, or dissonant in some way. In and of themselves, red flags may not mean anything at all, but by meeting with the practice administrator and clinical manager you’ll be able to better evaluate a prospective new practice opportunity.

*Joseph Casper is a Senior Business Advisor with Allergan’s Eye Care Business Advisory Group. He is based in Boston, Massachusetts. He can be e-mailed at casper_joe@allergan.com.