The world of medicine is without a doubt complex and, physicians just entering the field have many paths to choose from when beginning a practice. An established gastroenterologists offers insight into them most important considerations for GI fellows.
Ask a Gastroenterologist is a weekly series of questions posed to GI physicians around the country on business and clinical issues affecting the field of gastroenterology. We invite all gastroenterologists to submit responses.
Next week's question: Do expect consolidation amongst GI practices to be a large trend this year?
Please submit responses to Carrie Pallardy at cpallardy@beckershealthcare.com by Thursday, January 29, at 5 p.m. CST.
Patrick Takahashi, MD, CMIO and Chief of Gastroenterology Section of St. Vincent Medical Center (Los Angeles): New graduates must be cognizant of a number of variables which could impact their ability to establish a new found practice. In this era of cutbacks, it is imperative that gastroenterology fellows understand the economics of a successful practice. With increasing managed care and Obamacare plans dominating the market, the need for an adequate front office/billing staff cannot be underestimated.
Increasing regulatory pressures to produce data as it pertains to this new era of value-based medicine are constraining reimbursements even more. These are points that are not taught in training. Hence, fellows coming out of training are often left fending for themselves. The need to find the right electronic medical record and its inherent financial burden to a practice is difficult enough for the established practitioner to deal with, let alone a recent graduate.
The days of thriving as a solo practitioner are truly limited. It is up to trainees to look for established practices who have a clear vision of the future from a financial standpoint. These practices are often the same ones where the physicians are in alignment with each other, from a practical, philosophical, and financial level. Besides dealing with the usual issues of location, reimbursement, and the like, fellows should look at the demographics of those physicians potentially referring to their practices. Are the referring physicians in alignment with you? Is there something unique from an age, gender, or racial standpoint that could enhance the value of a new graduate to a particular group? How is the potential for continued growth in the area? These are just some of the questions to be considered.
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