The Best Reason To Leave Practice Administration To Professionals

Private practice physicians report higher satisfaction while providing better care to more patients.

Ask any private practice rheumatologist, and they’ll tell you there is no other profession where you can immediately impact a person’s life. Yet, today’s community rheumatology physicians face mounting challenges in delivering outstanding patient care. How community rheumatologists confront these challenges - from the high cost of pharmaceuticals and payer negotiations to sourcing and retaining clinical staff - will significantly impact patient access to care, care quality, and - ultimately, clinicians' and patients’ quality of life. 

Doctors abandon private practice for hospital employment.

Over the next two decades, the number of U.S. adults diagnosed with arthritis is projected to increase by 49% to 78.4 million. In parallel, the number of full-time rheumatology providers (doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) will decline by 25%. The demand for rheumatologic care is projected to exceed the supply of rheumatology providers by 102%. 

In its 2015 Rheumatology Workforce Study, the American College of Rheumatology projected over 80% of rheumatologists will practice in large community healthcare systems by 2040. Multiple factors contribute to this projection, including many doctors leaving community practice for large health systems and fewer providers anticipating entry into or starting a private practice at the start of their careers. This shift away from private practices is emblematic of the fiscal uncertainty and economic stress many doctors face due to rising practice costs, mandated payment cuts in Medicare, and obtrusive administrative burdens. 

Safeguard community care with outsourced administrative support.

Small independent practices are disappearing at an alarming rate despite the recognition that the private practice environment is better for patients and clinicians. A 2023 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that small private practices offer equally high-quality care and patient experiences at a lower price than physicians and hospitals in health systems. 

Private practice clinicians experience reduced rates of burnout. According to a 2018 article in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, doctors in small independent practices are often happier and more satisfied than those employed by large healthcare systems. And doctors earn more than their health system-employed peers thanks to ancillary service revenue, which is often unavailable to doctors employed by large hospital systems. 

Key Steps to relieving the burdens associated with private practice management

Despite the benefits to patients and doctors, private practices are threatened by administrative burdens of an increasingly complex healthcare environment. The best way for private practice rheumatologists to implement efficiency in their overall practice management strategy is to seek out a medical practice management organization to enhance and deliberately delegate some - or all - of their business’ administrative tasks to subject matter experts to ensure the practice thrives.

Finding the right healthcare professionals reduces time-consuming administrator tasks

The most sophisticated of these organizations will offer comprehensive practice administration services - and more - all under one roof. The practice has the opportunity to reduce administrative friction and recoup valuable income in the process by streamlining workflows and simplifying core programs like:

• Record keeping
• Billing and coding
• Practice finance
• Marketing
• Compliance
• Operations
• Revenue cycle management
• Pharmaceutical purchasing
• Human resources

The result - and the best reason to leave practice administration to the professionals - is that the best medical practice organizations will do this work in support of community rheumatologists to thrive in reclaiming their work-life balance and job satisfaction while providing more patients with better care.