EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/1171786
OCTOBER 2019 | EYEWORLD | 69 Contact information Pinto: pintoinc@aol.com Wohl: czwohl@gmail.com PRACTICE TUNE-UPS • Keep your ear to the ground. Meet with local healthcare system executives and ask, "What's coming around the bend for private practice specialists like me?" • Be receptive and friendly to all overtures. Even if you and your partners are dead-set on continued independence, you want to keep all doors open. Conditions could change. • Run a better practice and a better business. Continued popularity with patients and re- ferral sources will give you control over your volumes. Contemporary, thoughtful financial practices like benchmarking your productiv- ity and expenses will give you the economic freedom to remain independent. • If a compelling opportunity to consolidate surfaces, deeply vet every detail. Your ad- visors should work hard to help you avoid regrets. Be sure to have frank discussion with colleagues who have already joined the same enterprise. • If you do decide to consolidate, go all the way. Shift loyalties from your own interests to those of the larger enterprise. If there is any aspect of your post-consolidation life you don't like, work within the system to over- come your frustrations, rather than grumbling to your colleagues or support staff. surgeons co-owning an ASC or LASIK center is an example of this deeper reciprocity. Expense-sharing association This is when two or more MDs join in a com- mon practice but retain their individual pro- fessional entities (PC, PA, LLC, Corp, etc.) and autonomy, and share in agreed expenses. This model is sometimes selected by doctors who are not yet ready to "get married" to a colleague. It can be more fragile, less stable, and less en- during than formal economic integration. It is generally not advised for clients. Merger/acquisition This is the formal economic integration of two or more practices. A practice merger is when all or most principals involved in a transaction go from owning shares in their individual practices to owning shares in a larger, combined practice. This is contrasted with a practice acquisition, where the selling MDs generally shift from be- ing shareholders to being non-owner associates. Acquisitions are also pursued by health systems, private equity firms, and private investors. What you can do Here are five things you can do in the present environment: I