CONSULT THE EXPERTS Mark Ramirez, MD, a San Angelo dermatologist, says working with a TMA practice consultant helped him take the first steps toward establish- ing a solo practice. Dr. Ramirez had been practicing in a group setting for five years, and that group had grown quickly and doubled in size from 100 to 200 physicians. “During that time period, there
was a progression from autonomy and a sense of the physicians being in charge and feeling like we had a lot of say-so. As the group got larger, we felt like the administration became more in control,” Dr. Ramirez said. “It made a lot of us feel more like factory work- ers, and I didn’t want to stay and do that.” Dr. Ramirez says it had always been
a goal of his to have his own practice, but coming out of residency, the sheer number of business decisions to con- sider was daunting. A group setting was the best place to start until he was ready to move forward with his own practice. The 2014 TMA Physician Bien-
nial Survey shows the number of solo practitioners, which had been on a steady rise from 2008, began plum- meting not long after, from 44 percent in 2012 to 29 percent in 2014. Meanwhile, the percentage of
group practice employees increased from 13 percent in 2012 to 22 percent in 2014. Survey results also show phy- sicians in the youngest age group — 40 and younger — are more likely than other physicians to be in a group prac- tice or to be hospital employees. Dr. Ramirez says when he first
made the decision to launch a solo practice, it was hard to know what needed to be done and in what or- der. A friend who had started his own medical practice recommended TMA Practice Consulting after working with the group. Ms. Odell helped Dr. Ramirez com-
plete each step to get established, and he opened his new practice in Septem- ber 2014.
July 2015 TEXAS MEDICINE 35
ASK A TMA CONSULTANT: PRACTICE SETUP
TMA Practice Consulting can help with all of your practice setup needs. Peggy Pringle, TMA associate vice president of practice management services, offers answers to these com- monly asked medical practice setup questions:
Q: How much does it typically cost to start a medical practice? A. Approximately $250,000 — depending on the specialty.
Q: Why do I need to establish a legal organization such as a professional association (PA) or professional limited liability company (PLLC)? A. Setting up a legal corporate business structure will help protect your personal assets in the event of a lawsuit. It also has tax advantages.
Q: What is the single largest overhead expense? A. Paying and insuring staff members.
Q: Will I need to get recredentialed on all of the insurance plans I accept? A. Yes, credentialing is tied to a physician’s current tax identi- fication number, address, and phone number. The recreden- tialing process typically takes three to nine months.
Q: What reports should I review monthly to ensure my practice is financially healthy? A. You should review accounts receivables; procedure analy- sis by physician; billing summary; collections analysis; unpaid insurance claims; and charges, collections, and adjustments. For more guidance, order TMA’s publication Business Basics for Physicians,
www.texmed.org/basics.
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