MAKE AMOVE FOR THE RIGHT REASONS San Antonio internist John Matlock, MD, says he contacted TMA Practice Consulting as soon as he decided to go solo. Dr. Matlock had some experi- ence launching a practice. After work- ing with Diagnostic Clinic of San An- tonio for 15 years, he left to start San Antonio Preventive Diagnostic Medi- cine with four other physicians nearly 20 years ago. All were equal partners, and the
practice is successful. But he says he eventually felt like his views were di- verging from those of his partners. He also wanted to have his wife, an accomplished nurse and administra- tor, work with him — something that wasn’t possible in a group setting. Dr. Matlock began planning in February 2014 and opened Matlock Internal Medicine in August of that year. He says hiring TMA Practice Consulting was “the best money we ever spent.” “I could still work full time at the
other practice and review what they [TMA Practice Consulting] put to- gether for me,” he said. “I’d put to- gether a business plan once before, so I knew how much work goes into it. I wanted to be able to continue working and generating money. It kept me on an even keel.” Dr. Matlock says he has now
reached the point where he’s busier in the new practice than he was in his old one. That’s not to say it has been easy. “It’s very stressful,” he said. “I’m
sure lemmings, when they jump off the cliff, feel better because other lemmings are there with them, even if they’re all going the wrong way. There’s always that feeling of niceness when you’re with other people.” But the move to go solo has paid off, despite the stresses, he says. He’s been able to pay higher salaries, which he says has attracted better staff. A good connection with the front desk, where
his wife sits, has improved satisfaction among patients.
The feeling of being relaxed in the office without having conflicts be- tween partners is also great, he adds. And running his own practice is the way he wanted to finish out his career. Dr. Matlock advises other physi- cians who are contemplating a move to solo practice to think it through and plan financially. It’s also important to want to make the move for your own reasons, he says, not just to make more money, because that might not happen right away. “If you think you’re going to make
more money by yourself, well, you might not. If you do it right, you won’t make less money,” he said.
Kate Harrington is an Austin-based freelance writer and principal of Thumbtack Communica- tions.
STAGE 2 is HERE! Are you ready? Y
our local Regional Extension Center (REC) has experienced consultants to assist your health care IT needs. Texas RECs have been positioned to effectively support practices and hospitals in the following key areas:
Security Risk Assessment and HIPAA Audits Patient Portal Assistance PQRS and other Quality Initiatives Proposed New CMS Guidelines Assistance
Houston San Antonio
Corpus Christi, Laredo Rio Grande Valley
DFW Metroplex Corsicana
Longview, Jacksonville Texarkana, Tyler
GULF COAST REC (713) 500-3479
GCREC@uth.tmc.edu www.uthouston.edu/gcrec
NORTH TEXAS REC (469) 648-5044
rhowe@ntrec.org www.ntrec.org
Serving the
108 Most Western Counties in Texas
East Texas Hill Country Austin, Waco Brazos Valley
WEST TEXAS HITREC (806) 743-7960
info@wtxhitrec.org www.wtxhitrec.org
CENTREAST REC (979) 436-0390
centreastrec@tamhsc.edu www.centreastrec.org
July 2015 TEXAS MEDICINE 37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68