There’s a growing band of physicians who are reflecting upon practice models and asking if a traditional medical practice really suits them. Just in the past few weeks, we’ve heard from frustrated locum tenens, established primary care physicians and brand-new practitioners all saying the same thing: Is there a different practice model that might suit them better?

In our last newsletter, we talked about different types of practice models. Cash-only and concierge are two alternatives that continue to receive attention. While an increasing number of physicians are changing into innovative practice models, it’s still a big step and one that requires planning and careful consideration.

Do Your Due Diligence

Whether wanting to transition into a new practice model or start a new practice, the first step is the same: research.

• What exists in the market?
• Are there other innovative practice arrangements, such as concierge practices?
• How do they structure their services and what is their fee schedule?
• What’s the demographic profile within your target market?
• Does the profile have overlap with the likely target for your new practice?

Once you sort out the competitive environment and the demographics, you need to see if there are likely candidates for your service. For example, if you want to create a practice that caters to major employers, your research needs to focus on this specific market.

If you have an existing practice and want to change the nature of your practice, you need to survey your patients. You may already be offering special services, but if you want to transition into a concierge practice, your patients may not see enough of a difference between what you’ve always offered and what you’re proposing.

And if you want to charge a fee for “new” services features, your patients will have to see that fee as worthwhile.

Look Deeper

Once you’ve conducted these two levels of research, your information must be analyzed. Often our clients forget that the research shapes the decision. Some of our clients state they are going to pursue their new idea no matter what the research indicates.

This is a risky notion. The entire rationale behind research is to help support the decision—and sometimes the research indicates the market isn’t receptive. It’s not enough to conduct the research; the decision about how you move forward should be based on the insights you gain.

In our concierge example, a physician with an existing practice may learn that a sampling of her patients is indeed receptive to a concierge practice, but they’re also very price-sensitive. This is useful information and can impact the pro forma and the success of the new venture. This market intelligence may help the physician move forward or try a different tactic.

Research is the crucial first step to initiating a new practice or altering an existing one and can help answer the question of “to change or not to change.”

Suzanne Dewey is an associate with Corporate Health Group, a national healthcare consulting firm, and is based in Massachusetts. For additional information, please call 1- 866-315-7774 or contact us via the Web.

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