New practice startups involve many dozens, even hundreds of details and decisions. When taken individually, none of the specific startup activities are especially challenging. The difficulty is in the sheer number of the steps, the appropriate sequencing, and the organization and follow-up required. A few of the decisions made, such as lease agreements, can have significant financial impact for many years and mistakes in these areas can be very costly. Eagle Consulting Partners offers years of experience to assist with the entire range of these decisions.
Eagle Consulting Partners begins with a consultation to review the unique situation of the startup including the background and experience of the physician, the financial and human resources available, any legal considerations, decisions made or steps already taken, and other factors. A wide range of services can be offered from brief consultation to total management of the startup, with everything in between.
When deciding whether to obtain help, especially if finances are tight, consider the costs of lost revenue. History has proven that a recurring area of difficulty is completing the credentialing process with 3rd party payers. Until this credentialing is complete, these payers will not reimburse for your services, or will not reimburse at the highest rate. As a result, potential patients with a plan for whom you are not credentialed are unlikely to come for services. Consider that turning away just two patients per day for 6 months will cost the a family practitioner nearly $20,000 over the course of 6 months. Consider further that the patients who get care elsewhere may in fact be lost long-term relationships. So each of these patients who do not come to the practice may represent many lost visits over a period of years.
Eagle can create additional value for practices who choose ongoing management services. Once again, the biggest benefit usually comes from increased revenue. Consider studies that show that physicians on average under-code, with potential loss of many thousands of dollars per year. Consider the impact of an effective practice marketing program which brings an additional 2 or 3 patients per day for a 3 year startup period. The specific dollar impact of these additional patients vary by specialty from $100,000 over the 3 years to several times that amount.