Self Employed or Employee?
It’s no secret that the healthcare landscape is changing. Many physicians are leaving private practice behind and choosing to be directly employed by a hospital or large healthcare system – but not everyone is taking this leap.
Why do they do this?
The financial security, predictable work hours, and relief from administrative tasks that come with being employed versus independent sound pretty attractive. What benefits do independent physicians experience?
The Four Benefits of Being a Private Practice Physician
Be your own boss…
That’s the dream, right? When you own your own practice, you become your own boss. The treatment choices you make for your patients go without question. You see as many or as few patients as you want to each day and treat them in the way you see as medically and ethically fit. Many enjoy the ability to practice medicine on their own terms.
The possibility for a higher patient retention rate…
Many, but not all, patients appreciate the more personal feel of a smaller, independent practice. They can typically see the same physician each time they visit. They talk to the same nurse about test results. The same front desk staff greets them and checks them in each time. After a while, it begins to feel like the healthcare version of Cheers where everyone knows your name. A large practice loses the ability to do this, and many doctors want to offer this type of environment for their patients.
A greater understanding of your patients…
Running a small, independent medical practice can be difficult, just as running any small business is. This helps keep doctors keenly aware of the financial challenges their patients face. This alone provides physicians with a unique desire to find a cost-effective solution to fit their patients’ care needs. Patients certainly like this and many doctors appreciate being able to fill this need as well. You got into the medical field in order to help, right? Taking help to another level involves understanding all of your patient’s needs, not just medical.
The ability to monitor the pulse of the practice…
Maintaining all administrative duties provides a fair bit of stress, however, some thrive on managing their practice, monitoring its operations, and pushing forward. This is possible as most of the time you’ll keep pretty much everything in-house allowing you full control of the organization. With the right tools, you can analyze what’s working, what isn’t, and make adjustments on the fly as needed to keep your practice operating.
Most physicians dreamed of owning an independent private practice. Throughout medical school, many probably envisioned becoming their own boss, and with the right tools, this dream is still alive.
Are you working on keeping the dream alive? MicroMD can help. To learn more visit micromd.com or call 1-800-624-8832.
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It makes sense that when a physician has their own practice then they are their own employer. This would probably be really handy because then you can run things the way that you want to. That way you can cater to the needs of your clients as you want to as well.