Have you ever considered a micropractice?
Medscape followed a few physicians who did, and experienced success.
Some physicians who desire to remain independent are turning to micropractices to serve their patient populations while also meeting today's rules and regulations. Micropractices are often direct-pay primary care practices in which patients pay cash for services. Sometimes practices discount payments on a monthly or quarterly basis. There are some micropractices that will take commercial insurances as both in- and out-of-network providers. There are others that take just Medicare and Medicaid, according to the report.
The micropractice can survive because overhead is kept low; in some situations, the physician doesn't have any staff members. Many of the micropractices also keep their patient volume to a low manageable amount — around 200 to 1,000 patients.
Here are five things to know:
1. The micropractices keep costs low in a variety of ways, such as receiving medical equipment from retiring physicians or hospital overstock. One physician even created an EHR for free on her laptop.
2. Renting a small office space in a solo practice can keep costs low and allow the physician to work part time. The location is also key, as renting space in a large city might not make sense for the practice.
3. The physicians are often on call 24/7 with a concierge service and open door policy, but the physicians in the report said their patients don't take advantage of them. Most of the calls are for clarifications and scheduling appointments.
4. While the amount of money a micropractice makes varies, one physician reported grossing around $140,000 per year working around 1.5 days per week seeing 25 patients; her overhead was just $10,000 making $130,000 her net revenue.
5. Downsides of the micropractice include potentially higher malpractice premiums and lack of companionship from staff members. Additionally, the practice doesn't bring in revenue if the physician is sick or on vacation, and the physician spends time doing administrative work such as ordering supplies or cleaning the office.