Ways Your Private Practice Outshines Hospital Clinics
“It’s my pleasure Mr. Smith, thanks for trusting us with your wife’s care!”
Ever the gentleman, Roger Smith gripped the door handle and smiled at his bride of twenty plus years. With a departing wave to the patient service representative, he led the way into the parking lot.
They had been receiving care from Dr. Mosley for the past ten years, and those final three words were part of the reason why. “It’s my pleasure!”
What sets apart your private practice from larger healthcare organizations?
And how do you as the founder or manager of said practice highlight these differences and attract prospective patients?
Those questions brought you here…and it’s time to get them answered.
Private Practice vs. Hospital Clinic
Managing a hospital-owned practice presents a set of challenges unknown to those outside of this setting.
- Decreased autonomy
- Red tape for simple requests
- Disconnect between administration and hourly staff
- Distinct terminology around billing
- Works on the accrual system
O and I can’t forget those “exciting” JCAHO (Joint Commision) visits that put the whole system on red alert!
When needs come up, the hospital will take precedence over any affiliated clinics because it’s the big money earner. And in those cases, nobody wants to be second, third, or fourth place.
Making up less than 20% of the US total, for-profit hospitals bear their own issues.
Directed by executives who lack clinical training and carry heavy influence, physicians can find their medical decisions being questioned.
As a result, this common interference has a way of generating headaches for doctors and other clinical leaders. Despite their previous success in running businesses, liberally applying cookie-cutter techniques to something as unique as healthcare can create problems.
Reimbursement from Medicare and other payers, coupled with fees for site of service make treatment in a hospital a very expensive option for patients.
Okay, now you understand where hospitals fall short. In what ways does your model differ, and where are there opportunities?
I’ll discuss this next.
Benefits of Private Practice Healthcare
One huge plus when managing a private practice is the full autonomy granted to doctors. This evidence-based treatment leads to outcomes in the best interest of individual patients.
And isn’t that what healthcare was designed to do?
2020 AMA survey data showed 49.1% of physicians operate in practices they either own by themselves or with partners.
Some perks they enjoy in this setting:
- Agile decision making on industry trends, news, ideas
- More direct impact on the organization
- Quicker adoption of new techniques and technology
- Works on the cash system
- Offers lower costs for surgeries through outpatient centers
How much lower is the cost to your patients?
ACL reconstruction costs an average of $5,315 less, according to one study. And that’s just one example.
Beyond that they’ll also spend 25% less time at these centers versus a hospital setting, additional research found.
Staffing can be an issue for any industry, and attracting (and keeping) expert nurses means a more profitable operation.
Private practice appeals to nurses on account of:
- Shorter shifts and flexible schedules
- More manageable patient load
Fewer patients per nurse frees them up to deliver consistent quality…increasing patient satisfaction scores and new referrals.
How do you take advantage of this knowledge and become the logical option for medical care?
Let’s take a look.
How to Leverage Your Private Practice
Marketing budgets for hospitals must be spread out over varied service lines. Not a very efficient use of those precious dollars!
With a niche service line, the full force of a well organized marketing budget can be used for generating new business at a private practice.
Unlike your counterparts at larger organizations, owning your own clinic or practice means you’re there for the long haul. Your photo shows up prominently on the website, making you the ideal spokesperson for establishing trust in targeted marketing campaigns.
This matters because growth is given a boost when evoking emotional responses and building more meaningful relationships with those you serve.
Therefore, expect patient volume and your authority as an expert to also increase from this concerted effort.
Now the most cost saving and effective way to achieve this result is through something I use every day in my own company.
Costing 62% less than traditional marketing and producing nearly 3 times as many leads, content marketing is the answer.
Even with a smaller budget, this pillar of digital marketing has the potential of placing your practice in search engine results alongside the more well known industry giants.
And if you want to take it to the next level…
Combine content marketing with community engagement and a strong PR campaign for even more ranking success.
To wrap up, now you have a better picture of how to more opportunely differentiate your healthcare facility from other options.
The way forward now looks like…implementation!