There actually ARE a number of factors conspiring against you to make your “dream” of being a doctor more like a “nightmare,” or at least a “bad dream.” It’s just not what you think.
At the APMA national meeting in Las Vegas, Dr. John Guiliana, Dr. Hal Ornstein, Dr, Andrew Schneider and I were asked to “Take Off the Rose Colored Glasses” and discuss the biggest concern of the 350 doctors attending our session: “We are being paid less for what we do while the big networks and hospitals are gobbling everything up. How can we survive?”
Dr. Guiliana eloquently explained his position on the topic (which I will paraphrase): The more things change the more they stay the same. He said that in his career, the end of the profession has been predicted with great confidence by many “leading” podiatrists.
“Medicare was going to destroy medical practices, and yet we survived. Managed Care was going to destroy medical practices, and yet we survived. The Affordable Care Act is going to destroy medical practice, and yet we will survive,” said Dr. Guiliana.
You Control Your Future
No matter what the government, hospitals, insurance companies, or anyone else does, YOU CAN THRIVE. Here is why: Most podiatry practices are managed very, VERY inefficiently. Most podiatry practices are marketed VERY, VERY poorly, if at all.
If you manage your practice by understanding the numbers and working with your staff to improve your processes, your practice can generate significantly more profits. And if you market your practice so that your reception room is filled with patients you want to see, you will generate significantly more profits. Put these two strategies together and EVEN with the reality of a more complex and frustrating market, you can truly THRIVE as a private practitioner until the day you exit your practice and enjoy a retirement.
The future is going to come and if you do nothing, then you know what it will look like—the present, of course. If, however, you take a step and get serious about choosing a path of success that leads you to being number one in your market, then it can’t fail. It can’t fail. Take a look through the Top Practices website for more information to see how our Mastermind Group can help you.
