“Maybe you enter into an agreement with a hospital that wouldn’t mean you are employed, but gives you a relationship with them so that you can work with them,” Ms. Delgado said in an interview. “That way, you are able to remain independent, but [are] able to get some benefits from the hospital.”
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Doctors determined to retain their private practice must also be mindful of their collections efforts, Mr. Hutzler said. Most practices are going to have some debt on their books, he noted, but it should not grow out of control, nor should physicians constantly be borrowing against the practice. Additionally, practices should ensure their contracts with insurers are firm and that they are receiving payment as outlined in their agreements.
“You don’t want lose out in private practice just because you do an ineffective job collecting from payers,” Mr. Hutzler said in an interview. “You need a solid business office to make sure you’re getting everything you can out of your payer contracts.”
Whether it’s worth it to remain independent depends on the physician and his or her goals, Mr. Hutzler said.
“They both have their pros and cons,” he said. “You have to decide which set of risks that you want” to take on.
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