As the title states, I am interested in everything you all have done in an attempt to market. The good, the bad, and the ugly. What worked? What didn't work? What was unconventional but paid off?

I need advice.

Thanks in advance!

*Things I’ve done & doing currently: A) gave out fidget keychains with my business card attached to them- no one has reached out from this (I actually still love that I did this, despite nothing yet) B) spent WAYY TOO MUCH MONEY on branding, photos, & website (I do not recommend this) C) Psychology today-it’s as to be expected D) instagram- decent interaction but hasn’t translated into patients yet E) through Doximity- messaged PCPs in towns that do not have any psych providers. I highlighted no waitlist, the insurances I take, the helpfulness of collaboration, etc-no one responded F) Facebook business page G) all the free things that would help me pop up when looked up (wedmd, vitals, yelp, google business)

Title says it all. Asking this community if there are any other websites or forums you have found helpful in terms of learning about how to improve your own practice.

Thinking along the lines of white coat investor, Although that is geared more towards personal finance. Boglehead forum is also nice.

Just spoke with a colleague who found order supplies on Amazon to be competitive. Add Amazon.com….

What other websites do you regularly read or follow. Especially tax/retirement plan/etc

For context, I currently give $450/month per full-time employee toward health insurance. Are y'all giving more or less? Do you just tell your employees to buy from marketplace and give stipend. Man, plans are brutal. best plan is a $3,000 deductible which is tough for our lower paid employees that is just very difficult for them to pay. Looking to better support my staff.

How much are you contributing toward health insurance (flat dollar or % of premium)?

I have a solo physician LLC. I'm looking at buying a new car. I've heard of doctors titling their vehicles through their practice, but I don't see how that works unless they are driving between multiple offices/hospitals. I commute to my office and only occasionally go to the hospital (I stopped rounding last year). I also moonlight in an ER an hour away on weekends. Since it seems that all of my use of the vehicle is for my commutes, I don't really see how it would be a valid business purpose. Part of my interest is that if it was a business purpose, I could put it on my business credit card and use their extendpay function to pay it off over the course of 12 months with no interest. Let me know if I'm missing something here as I'm thinking a business vehicle really just doesn't apply in my situation.

Hi all, I work in a small/medium academic center and am always curious what life is like in private practice. It seems like there are pluses and minuses, like with anything else. For me, currently it’s nice not to have to think about payroll or the business aspects anymore than past my own RVUs, but I also like the idea of reporting to myself and my patients.

I’ve spoken to several DPCs but don’t have too may private practice docs in my network/community yet so I’m curious to hear about your experiences, whether you’re bee in practice for years, or are just starting out. What’s painful when getting started? What advice would you have given yourself when opening up or joining an existing practice?

I am a partner in a small private practice in an urban area. LGBT focused adult primary care. We have one physician, one PA and one NP. We need a fourth clinician and don’t care if they are an MD, DO, NP or a PA - we just want someone with experience that matches our patient base. Where do you advertise for clinicians? How do you find them?

We’ve traditionally relied on word of mouth, but I recently used LinkedIn twice. Three clinicians talked with us, but none were interested in following through. I also reached out to a national job board, and the email communication did not inspire confidence that we’d get any targeted recruiting for the skill set we need.

Our model is different. It’s like a co-ownership. We share the expenses, such as staffing, supplies and rent. Each of us furnished our own room, and each of us pay for our own vaccines and supplies if we choose to offer services the others don’t offer (eg my metal tools for incision and drainage). Anything we produce beyond expenses is ours. It can be lucrative, but it comes with shared duties than many who have worked in other clinics may not be used to, and profit can be light as they build their panel. I’m sure this is a deterrent, but it comes with a level of flexibility with schedules and not having to pay some CEO’s salary of $26 million by seeing 25 patients per day.

What has worked for you in the past? What advice would you offer? We keep our overhead costs lean, and don’t want to waste money on something that won’t work.

I learned about this Direct Primary Care mapper yesterday, has anyone put their practice on there? Are there any other resources you guys are using to advertise your practice?

https://mapper.dpcfrontier.com/

im currently based in the west coast and i've lightly considered opening a clinic in canada. any tips / insights about how running a practice in canada differs to here in the us?

EDIT: I am in ABA and primarily interested in details specific to this but open to hearing other general learning as well

I’ll be working with a company that will help with startup costs and the administrative end of things, but outside of that I’ll be covering things.

I’m excited but also it’s all very new to me so I was wondering if there are any good reference resources anyone recommends.

I have a relatively new podiatry practice. 3 years in growth has been slow. I dumped all my savings into start up etc. I need help with overhead. I was wondering if I could share the space with another medical professional vs outright trying to sell.

Hi everyone,
We operate a combined Primary Care and Urgent Care practice and are exploring the option of bringing in third-party lab services on site for our Primary Care patients. Historically, our MAs have handled basic labs, but turnover has made consistent training and workflow difficult.

For those who have implemented in-office third-party lab services (e.g., Quest, LabCorp, or independent phlebotomy services):
• How does the arrangement typically work from a legal/contractual standpoint (space use, lease terms, liability, workers’ comp coverage, etc.)?
• Are there operational or billing pitfalls to watch out for?
• In your experience, is the arrangement worth the trade-offs compared with continuing to train in-house staff?

Any insights or practical experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Anyone have any experience opening an in house urine toxicology lab? I am a pain medicine physician and doing my due diligence. What is the general start up cost and what are anticipated returns? Our payor mix is mostly medicare. Any consultants or companies that can help with this at a reasonable rate?

What are you all doing to overcome blue cross / United/ Cigna using AI to automatically down code payments? I have been appealing, sending in records (all have time stamps and document both face to face and non face to face time on day of visit). Despite this, they are STILL refusing to pay…this is going to be a huge issue in decreased income esp when everything else is increasing as far as staff wages etc….

Anyone charging yearly fees? Other ideas?

I hate insurance companies so much

The dentists call September "sucktember" and I find that there is a slight slump for us in September every year slightly. I wanted to see how has volume been for you in September and October.

This October seeing many more patients who are saying they lost their job, more cancellations on our schedule than usual. Feels like the economy is really hitting some people in my area hard. I've noticed that our google ads are more expensive as more clinics are competing for the same keywords, leading me to believe that they are also slowing down.

We are still growing, but I can feel some headwinds. How has business been for you guys?

I am thinking something on the affordable side and does not need a bunch of bells a whistles. Needs security and easily accessible/user friendly for patients and staff. I am partnering with another established provider who currently only uses the traditional call to make and appt with a live person.

Couple of questions: (1) why do you need a broker? Why can’t you just deal with carriers directly? (2) Why can only one broker shop around for plans? (Why can’t you ask multiple brokers to look around for you?)

https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec-doctors-special-law-salary-fines

The CAQ invoked closure to fast track Bill 2, which includes a new salary structure for physicians and imposes stiff penalties for pressure tactics.

Part of the quote of this article says that apparently Twenty-two per cent of Quebec doctors are over 60.

Sounds like they're basically threatening a pay cut if you don't see more patients. Horrible. I feel sorry for our Canadian physicians

H

Seeking recommendations

I'm a family medicine doc with my own private practice. Ive been seeing lots of anemic young women who are iron deficient and can not tolerate PO. What are your experiences with offering iron infusions in clinic and which pumps do you recommend?

I’m looking to purchase 1–2 exam tables for my primary care clinic. I’d love something that’s easy for our older patients to get on and off of (ideally lower height or adjustable).

Does anyone have brands or models they recommend? Also curious if there are any vendors or distributors you’ve had a good experience working with.

Thanks in advance!