It used to be an open question whether health care was immune to economic downturns. Although health care is not as tied to consumer confidence as electronics, vacations, or even new vehicle purchases, we now know that it is much more correlated than many once believed. Economic researchers first started noticing declining growth in consumer health care spending in late 2007/early 2008. Overall spending growth on health care is the lowest it has been in a decade, likely driven by low consumer confidence, rising unemployment, and increased use of high-deductible health plans.
With changing reimbursement and more federal mandates such as MIPPA and e-prescribing, how can today’s cardiology practice survive and thrive? The instinctive reaction is to simply cut costs and hunker down until better times return. This may be a viable strategy for many, if not most practices. However, savvy practices will realize that a recession is a terrible thing to waste. While direct and indirect competitors are focusing only on internal cost-reduction efforts, enterprising practices are searching for opportunities to gain patients and solidify market position.
Get Organized
Now is the time to put aside personal agendas and desires. Physicians that want to embrace the opportunities created by a down economy must be willing to work harder than ever. The practice that can organize and act effectively under a plan of action will have an incredible edge on the competition. Several of the methods described here can only be accomplished when physicians embrace the larger goals of the organization as their top priority.
Increase public relations efforts
As most practices tighten on spending, opportunities exist to get your practice’s name in the media. Although traditional marketing is a pathway to achieve this, positive public relations is actually more effective than advertising in establishing expertise. Look for opportunities to become more engaged with the community. Community activities attract media attention, and involvement will increase the connections your physicians and staff make. People will also appreciate philanthropic efforts now more than ever, and the good will earned in the community will be paid back many times over.
Look for Areas with Under-served Patients
Declining health care spending may be driving other physicians out of the market, and may be causing some to stall on expansion plans. Utilizing selected health care business intelligence tools for analyzing marketplace trends, diagnosis rates, and health care spending can point out ways to grow the practice – geographically, or through a better tuned service mix.
Engage with Other Health Care Leaders
Engage or re-engage with other practices and hospitals to develop new and innovative service offerings. Other health care organizations are likely feeling the pinch just as acutely as you are. Whether it is joint marketing efforts, joint-ventures, or other collaborative arrangements, the opportunity to engage with hospitals or other practices may never be better. Most will feel that doing something is better than waiting out the tough economy.
Reduce Expenses – Smartly
Most organizations have already taken steps to reduce unnecessary expenses and prioritize capital investments. Some practices have looked hard at their payer mix and have taken steps to improve it. Many are investing in information technology in order to improve efficiency and qualify for incentives such as e-prescribing and the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative. However care must be taken to make cuts smartly – understanding where growth is occurring and the root causes for less-profitable services. Many practices have made the mistake of cutting expenses or implementing cost-saving policies, only to realize too late that they have killed an activity that their profitability depends on downstream.
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