Purchasing/Selling Physician Practices and Disclosure....

Lots of docs are selling their practices today...and who can blame them?  These men and women are mostly trained as scientists, not small business people.  They want to treat patients and families, not hire staff, chase insurance companies for money, and fret over cash flow.  I get it.  Just keep this in mind: Disclosure needs to be part of the purchase/sale process. From the hospital perspective: It's been explained to me that competing hospitals can't really differentiate themselves by what they can pay for a physician practice.  The offers will be pretty much the same as far as the dollars are concerned.  You can, however, outshine the competition by showing the relationship you create with the practices you own and physicians you employ...and disclosure can be a big part of this message.  Seriously.  Talk about how you support docs, nurses, patients, and families going through the worse moments of their lives.  Discuss your disclosure program, how you train staff facing post-event discussions, and how you provide support for the 2nd victims of medical errors.  Use your disclosure program to sell your hospital to prospective practices.

On the flip side, make sure potential practices fit with your disclosure program: "So, Dr. Jones how do you feel about disclosure of adverse medical events?   Ever said 'sorry' to a patient or family?  At Memorial Hospital, we train our doctors and nurses to empathize post-event and, when necessary, apologize for their mistakes.  Where do you stand on disclosure?  What are your feelings about the issue?" 

From the physician-practice perspective: Don't be afraid to ask the following questions: So I'm involved in an adverse event, what happens?  What are you going to train me to say to the patient or family?  What is the risk manager or legal counsel going to be telling me to do?  If the review shows a mistake and I know I made a mistake, what program is in place to provide fair, upfront compensation to the patient/family while meeting my emotional needs?  Does your hospital practice Sorry Works?   Walk me through an adverse event that is a possible medical error.....

For help developing your disclosure policy and program, contact Sorry Works! at 618-559-8168 or doug@sorryworks.net.