As a GP with her own list of locums which you can use for fr-ee, I thought I'd send this article in case it's of some use. Remember to post your locum vacancies (on Gladclinic.com and as always, it's a fre-ee locum finding service for you)
Tips on to how to survive in the current marketplace
There are many private companies keen to provide medical services and are seen as key competitors to traditional GP practices.
Times have changed...it will not be long before the healthcare marketplace will be highly competitive. It will all boil down to too few contracts being chased or sought by too many independent providers.
To survive this change in the marketplace, surgeries might think of strategizing to survive in these changing times.To survive in the current marketplace, surgeries might think of being innovative in delivering value for money.
They can do this by :
(a) Merging with other Local GP practices which share a common vision and ethos.
Merging with other GP practices to form a 'superpractice' offers patients more than continued traditional old fashioned General practice type medical services.
The potential negotiating powers that such an alliance created by 2 or 3 GP practices merging together can result in a greater chance in procuring contracts to provide health services within a region.
The skill mix generated by an alliance of this nature is a huge advantage because it also means that the Partners in the GP superpractices can undertake to run specialist clinics for patients; examples include skin clinics or musculoskeletal clinics at reduced costs (by circumventing the need to refer patients to secondary care).
The greater the diversity of offerings that a superpractice brings to the table the greater the potential of winning contracts.
(b) Forming partnerships with specialists in secondary care to create a 'GP and secondary care service clinic' all under one roof.
This is one means of surviving changes created when district general hospitals and certain units in tertiary centres close. The technicalities of these partnerships involve detailed market research including the demographics of the community, analysis of current and future needs of the community.
For example, in low socio-economic regions with a high density population of young families, partnerships with psychiatrics, and psychological allied services would thrive whilst partnerships created with plastic surgeons in these communities would probably not be a good idea.
On the other hand if the community is affluent with 'trendy types', then a GP practice offering added services like cosmetic surgery, healthy lifestyle clinics and wellness progams with dieticians, sports physicians under one roof are more likely to thrive.
(c) Forming partnerships with Private enterprise.
In creating partnerships with private enterprises it is important to conduct due diligence. Naturally, Private enterprises are driven by profit and rarely do they take a long term view.
This means that the services that are provided will be streamlined and certain services that do not bring revenue to a public/private partnership are often scaled down. This might mean that people who most need health care like the elderly and children would be affected as certain services do not bring much income to the practice for example home visits, baby checks and childhood immunisations.
Whilst these are subsidised by the government, there will be a greater focus on provision of services that bring in money. Don't forget the bottomline here is money.
Watch out that you do not rush out to form any deals without spending time and taking legal advice before entering into a contract with private organisations to form a merger.
There are many deals that sound so good to be true so trust your good instincts always. The strengths of any business partnership is based on partners sharing values and establishing clear goals and a vision.
It is also important to run due diligence on the potential partnering private firm. It is not only very important to make sure that key research is done on the potential partnering company's background, financial history, accounts, and management but also on the morals and ethics of those who actually work in and manage the private company.
There are many private companies keen to provide medical services and are seen as key competitors to traditional GP practices.
To create effective partnerships with private enterprise, it is important to evaluate how the potential private firm can leverage the GP practice's strengths and work as co-operators rather than competitors.
I have personally witnessed successful private/ public partnerships in Australia where the private firms manage all the administration and financial and business of running the practice whilst the doctors focus on clinical services and this seems to be an effective business model. No reason why it shouldn't work in the UK.
The doctors work as subcontractors so have their own autonomy in this co-operative partnership and profits are split between the participating Gps and the private company to meet the costs of administration, staff and nursing costs.
Summary of Key points.
- t will not be long before this marketplace will be highly competitive.
- It will all boil down to too few contracts being sought by many independent providers.
- To survive this change in the marketplace, surgeries might think of strategizing to survive in these changing times.
- They can merge forming superclinics, or form partnerships with secondary care or in certain cases with private firms.
- In creating partnerships with Private enterprises it is important to do due diligence
Until Next Time,
Dr. Lorna Knight
