Remember the good old days—a few decades or so ago—when a doctor could practice for 30 – 40 years and then sell his or her practice to another doctor when they were ready to retire, or better yet, have a son or daughter to take over the practice. Jump forward to present time and it’s not as easy to find someone to take over a medical or dental practice. The reality is there are far fewer doctors graduating than there are practices out there and doctors should start succession planning well before they’re ready to retire.
Dr. Michael Shepard, of Wolgast Corporation, has written a white paper “Succession Planning in Medical/Dental Practices in North America; (Are You Prepared?)”, to discuss modern day practices and methods for finding a successor. Among other advice, he discusses how the design of a medical office and a modern aesthetic can help attract a junior partner.
Being that we’re a contractor who provides Design/Build services, we know firsthand how an outdated and poorly maintained building can detract from business and also cost the owner money in a sale of that building. An architect that is creative, experienced and well versed in the codes of the medical or dental field, such as Rick Keith (Wolgast’s in-house architect), can make a difference in the aesthetics of your office as well as the efficiency of patient/work flow. Changes like these will help attract patients as well as a junior partner, so that a doctor may cut back their hours as they approach retirement and, eventually, retire stress free.
One final note, also featured in the white paper, is that the earlier you start your succession planning, like say in your business plan, the easier it will be for you to start your transition seamlessly. Having a junior partner on board early will help to transfer patient loads as the doctor reduces his or her hours and also keep the established staff employed as the junior partner can work with the senior doctor to set management systems.
