Seller Insights with Dr. Melissa Dugan-Kim
Melissa Dugan-Kim, M.D., on the non-clinical demands of medicine, the need to preserve private practice in women's health, and the future of her practice in partnership with Together Women's Health.
A. I found that private practice was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. Rising costs in our urban environment (staffing and rent, to name two that were entirely out of our control) and the increasing administrative and non-clinical demands placed on physician owners were becoming too much. We started to look at alternative strategies to help, ranging from hiring additional practice managers and HR employees to hospital affiliation to a private equity partnership.
A. We all knew we had to do something. We range in age and season of practice, but it didn't take us long to agree partnership with TWH was our best solution.
A. TWH was one of the first and only groups we considered a partnership with. We were struck by the people at our initial meetingsand their level of interest and investment in our company. Their commitment to women's health and the practice of solid medicine was clear to us, and the promise of clinical autonomy was key. We liked their model - that they are invested with us and only profit if we profit, and we were intrigued by the idea of getting in with a relatively young company where we could have more of a stake in our futures.
A. Personally, I have enjoyed continuing to practice medicine the way I want to practice and while enjoying fewer administrative duties. The training TWH has provided our managers and the additional support services our office has received from TWH have lessened the day-to-day non-clinical work of running a practice.
A. Transitioning EMRs is always going to be hard. I actually really like the new EMR, but converting 10+ years of charts has been time-consuming. We would likely have had to transition with or without TWH as our prior product was becoming outdated.
A. We are currently five partners, three associates, and three advanced practice providers, with three new physicians joining in the fall. Of the five partners, I see at least three of us still in practice, with the addition of at least two new partners and three new associates. We would likely not have been able to handle the upfront cost of growing our practice to the extent we have since partnering without TWH (initial loss of revenue with an associate and the build-out we need to do to make space for these new hires and new ancillaries, including mammography). We hope to continue expanding our service lines and remain one of the premier Chicago practices.
A. Before partnering, we wouldn't have been able to bring three new physicians on at once. From provider recruitment to the office build-out to the specialized marketing the TWH team has executed to new providers so quickly, this has all been accomplished with me spending less administrative time on the business, not more. I am now able to spend that time with my family.
A. If you want to preserve private practice and autonomy over your practice, I think this is the only sustainable way forward. Let the business people run the business and practice medicine the way you were trained to do!
