When considering medical practice transitions, doctors will need ample time and a lot of information before starting the process.
Three of the largest medical practice transitions doctors and administrators face are physician retirement, office relocation and practice acquisition. When healthcare professionals navigate these big shifts, they will often overlook or neglect important aspects of their operations.
As a doctor, if you are considering taking over the practice of a retiring doctor, this is an involved process that takes time. You don’t agree to a transition within the first week, and it takes time make sure it is the right practice for you to eventually own.
1) Look closely at the history of the practice
If you discover a history of doctors joining and leaving the practice, consider why. It may indicate that this current doctor is actually looking for temporary help and possibly has no intention of retirement. If you can, talk to each doctor who has left the practice. This will give you a reality of what happens once you choose to work inside the practice.
2) Speak with the team if you can
Understand the history and culture you are entering from an outside perspective. The team will have an unvarnished and pragmatic view, and it is valuable to consult them. Ask about the team dynamic, how challenges are handled and how the practice has changed and evolved during their tenure.
3) Review the employment contract for your rights
Have a third party review the terms and conditions. If indeed your potential position is the first for the practice, know whether joining this practice would constitute a retirement move for the founding doctor or a way of growing the practice. If it is a retirement move, you should have a clear plan for buying in and a definite date on which you take over the practice.
4) Plan for the post retirement
Prepare a non-compete clause for the retiring doctor, and have it signed as be part of the final contract for the medical practice transition. If you’re buying the practice for a set price, you should own the practice at the end of the buy-in. If the retiring doctor changes his or her mind about retiring (which often happens) the way in which that doctor stays on at the practice, or can practice locally elsewhere, should be up to you.
5) Consider an early exit
It is also important that you anticipate the opposite, meaning the retiring doctor decides to leave before transitioning the practice to you. You will retain more patients if there is a long transition (ie. 6 months to 2 years). If the doctor leaves early, your investment is worth less, so you should pay less.
Perhaps most important when considering medical practice transitions is to go slowly with the process. Rushing into a medical practice transition agreement (for fear of losing the opportunity) is a key mistake many young doctors make when buying from an older, retiring doctor.
Take your time, consider all options and be sure to double check all the conditions of the practice. Doing so will reduce future problems and make the transition successful for everyone involved.
