It’s been over a month since I joined the ranks of the unemployed and started building my new practice. For not having a job I’ve kept very busy. Here’s what I’ve done.
I presented the idea of my practice to about 150 people.
It was a wonderful experience, and was quite emotional for me seeing a bunch of patients in one place. The reception was wonderful. I was hoping to get a video of this up, but the fates were fickle and it was not possible.
I wrote a business plan
My accountant didn’t even laugh when I showed him. The idea was to look ahead at my months ahead and see when things would become profitable. There are a bunch of huge questions that my affect this: how many staff I have, how many patients I have, what it costs to upgrade my office space, but I did a worst-case scenario (short of the Zombie Apocalypse) and the fact that my overhead is low makes it easy to be profitable quite quickly.
I got a location for the practice.
Today I went through the building with a designer and am working on getting it ready to use. I am not doing the whole renovation at the start, as I won’t really know what the practice will need until it’s up and running. I want it to be very comfortable and welcoming. Most doctor’s offices are not places that say “welcome” to patients, but that’s what I want to convey.
I set a fee schedule.
· Age 0-2: $40/month
· 3-30: $30/month ($10/month if they are away in college)
· 30-50 $40/month
· 50-65 $50/month
· 65+ $60/month
Family maximum will be $150/month
Registration fee is $50 for 0-30 years of age and $100 after that (will count as first month’s payment).
$200 Family maximum for registration.
I am really trying to keep it as affordable as possible, especially for families.
I chose my computer platforms.
This was a particularly difficult step, as no one platform did everything I need to run this type of practice. I have signed with eClinicalWorks for the EMR side of things, and am working with Avado to get the patient health record and communication tools I need for patients. eCW has a portal, but portals are not the same as PHR’s, as a PHR is a more complete record which the patient owns, while a portal is an area where the patient is “permitted” to see information in the EMR. I have one more piece of the puzzle I am working on, but am not ready to announce that.
Played my guitar
One of the sure signs that my life is getting back in order is that I am playing my guitar. I’ve played since I was in 4th grade, and actually got pretty good at it. For the past few years, however, my playing has diminished to near nothing.
Ran/hurt myself running
I’ve been trying to get back into shape, but Father Time played a trick on me. I was running between 12 and 15 miles per week up to a week ago, when I got a bad pain in my gluteus maximus region. I hope it’s just a pulled muscle, and not something more sinister, like a radiculopathy (nerve pain). It is slowly getting better, but I hate having to limp around, and hate more to be sedentary for the past week.
Dealt with a sewer back-up
We literally had to deal with a bunch of crap in our basement. I won’t go into details, except to say that I gained respect for the plumbing profession (and pity).
Home brewed beer
My son and I have been brewing our own home-brew: “My Little Pony Beer.” It’s quite fun and so far nobody has gotten injured or sick in the process. I am presently waiting on a Belgian Ale to finish carbonation (already having fermented). It’s major yums.
I have hired someone to revamp the website (and my blogs)
My website will be as important to me as my office space, since I am going to be relying on it for patient communication. I’m spending money to get it nifty looking (no flash, thank you), and have lumped this and the other blogs with the project. More to follow.
So I am feeling OK overall about what I’ve done so far. Last month was about setting the foundation, and this month is getting things done.
Rob Lamberts, MD, is a primary care physician practicing somewhere in the southeastern United States. He blogs regularly at More Musings (of a Distractible Kind)where this post first appeared. For some strange reason, he is often stopped by strangers on the street who mistake him for former Atlanta Braves star John Smoltz and ask “Hey, are you John Smoltz?” He is not John Smoltz. He is not a former major league baseball player. He is a primary care physician.
Categories: Uncategorized
