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BUSINESS

ASK YOUR CPA

BUSINESS BASICS FOR A MEDICAL PRACTICE

By Jim P. Rice, CPA Shareholder

After 39 years in practice as a certified public accountant,
I compiled a list of some business basics for physician practices.

To maximize your profitability, these protocols should be reviewed at least once a year.

Are you doing everything you can to generate new patients? Are • Make a comprehensive assessment of your expenses and ways to
you asking other physicians to whom you refer business for referrals? curtail them.
Are you reassessing procedures that you send to other physicians to
see if you could do those services yourself? Is your current location • Have you asked your employees for ideas in this area? Are you
the best place to grow your practice? Are you re-connecting with having suppliers rebid against other competitors? What about of-
former patients? Are you re-negotiating contracts with insurance fice-sharing with other physicians? Are long-tenured employees
companies or joining a group to re-negotiate on a larger scale? Are overpaid and working less?
you building a marketing brand for your practice?
• Reassess your employees.
• Screen patient scheduling to include easily treatable problems
between already scheduled appointments. Successful practices • Do you obtain and retain exceptional employees, and pay them
derive approximately 20 percent of their revenue from ancillary well? You should personally interview all candidates. One of the
services. biggest errors physicians make is putting the wrong people in im-
portant positions. A front desk employee can make a life-long

26 San Antonio Medicine • September 2016