Competing With Hospital-Owned Practices: New Challenges
Hospitals are buying medical practices again. Though there was a lull in hospital and health system mergers during 2008, the more recent trend suggests a big turnaround. According to American Medical News (www.amednews.com), a growing number of physicians are interested in selling their practices to hospitals.
An AHA survey released April 27, 2009 found that hospitals are seeing an increase in the number of physicians looking to sell their practices. In November 2008, 31% of doctors were looking to sell their practices. That number jumped to 37% by March 2009. The AHA survey also noted that 9% of hospitals were contemplating mergers in response to poor economic conditions. The long recession and the specter of impending health reform means hospitals want to protect themselves in uncertain times. And the recent easing of credit markets is making such deals possible.
In addition, data from the Medical Group Management Association shows that hospital employment of physicians has risen in the past several years. In a poll of medical practices with three or more doctors, the percentage of hospital-owned increased from 24 percent in 2002 to nearly 50 percent in 2008. During that same period, the percentage of physicians employed directly by hospitals jumped from 25 percent to 37 percent.
How do you compete with the hospital?
Of course, there are many physicians who enjoy private practice and want to remain in private practice until they retire. But they worry about competing with hospitals that may have deeper marketing pockets and an in-house marketing staff.
If you are among those private practices hoping to remain privately owned, you can still compete against the hospital’s deep pockets and internal marketing staff. How? By more effectively marketing your strengths to potential new patients and referral sources, and by marketing against the hospital’s weaknesses. Start by looking at your practice and the hospital-based practice through a typical patient’s eyes.
What do patients like about coming to you versus the hospital? Is your care more personalized? Are you more highly credentialed than the hospital’s physicians or other specialists in your area of expertise? Do patients have to wait longer for appointments at the hospital than at your practice? Do they have to wait longer once they are in the “waiting” area? Do they receive attentive, focused compassionate care at the hospital? Or “assembly-line” care?
The differences may be startling. They may also provide you with the foundation for a much stronger marketing message, just as they have for many of Practice Builders’ most successful clients. We have helped many clients compete against hospitals and win. Call 800.679.1262 today and ask how we can help you compete most effectively with your local hospital.
An AHA survey released April 27, 2009 found that hospitals are seeing an increase in the number of physicians looking to sell their practices. In November 2008, 31% of doctors were looking to sell their practices. That number jumped to 37% by March 2009. The AHA survey also noted that 9% of hospitals were contemplating mergers in response to poor economic conditions. The long recession and the specter of impending health reform means hospitals want to protect themselves in uncertain times. And the recent easing of credit markets is making such deals possible.
In addition, data from the Medical Group Management Association shows that hospital employment of physicians has risen in the past several years. In a poll of medical practices with three or more doctors, the percentage of hospital-owned increased from 24 percent in 2002 to nearly 50 percent in 2008. During that same period, the percentage of physicians employed directly by hospitals jumped from 25 percent to 37 percent.
How do you compete with the hospital?
Of course, there are many physicians who enjoy private practice and want to remain in private practice until they retire. But they worry about competing with hospitals that may have deeper marketing pockets and an in-house marketing staff.
If you are among those private practices hoping to remain privately owned, you can still compete against the hospital’s deep pockets and internal marketing staff. How? By more effectively marketing your strengths to potential new patients and referral sources, and by marketing against the hospital’s weaknesses. Start by looking at your practice and the hospital-based practice through a typical patient’s eyes.
What do patients like about coming to you versus the hospital? Is your care more personalized? Are you more highly credentialed than the hospital’s physicians or other specialists in your area of expertise? Do patients have to wait longer for appointments at the hospital than at your practice? Do they have to wait longer once they are in the “waiting” area? Do they receive attentive, focused compassionate care at the hospital? Or “assembly-line” care?
The differences may be startling. They may also provide you with the foundation for a much stronger marketing message, just as they have for many of Practice Builders’ most successful clients. We have helped many clients compete against hospitals and win. Call 800.679.1262 today and ask how we can help you compete most effectively with your local hospital.