Consulting Physicians: To Have or Not to Have
In Utah, I can open my own clinic without the oversight of an MD. It is kind of a cool feeling to hang my name on the wall and say, "Hey, this is mine!!" I like not being under the control of a boss or another person. [Well, except my wife, but nothing I can do there. :-) ]
Anyway, when I opened my clinic I had to decide whether to have a physician with me or not. I carefully considered my options. It was a hard decision, especially since I opened the clinic 40 miles away from my previous worksite, and I didn't know any of the local doctors.
I decided to hire a consulting physician mainly because in Utah I need one to prescribe schedule II and III medications and to be reimbursed by a couple of the larger insurances. It was also comforting to know that I have someone I can call if I do have a question.
I chose the closest clinic to mine and went and introduced myself to the physician and told him of my desire to have a consulting physician. He was very concerned at first due to legal reasons. I had to explain the difference between a consulting and supervising physician, which has much more legal responsibility.
He was also concerned about my clinic as a competing clinic for patients. I reassured him that my clinic is patterned like a retail clinic and that I will be treating mostly minor acute illnesses and injuries.
I then told him he would benefit from patients I would refer to him with more chronic problems. Finally, I offered him a payment of $250 a month for consulting fees.
I stopped by his office several times over the next month to chat with him or take him out to lunch. (Luckily we both are into bike racing, so we had something in common). Mostly what I was trying to do was show him who I was, so he could feel comfortable having his name associated with mine.
Finally he agreed, and it has been beneficial to me since. Sure sometimes it is hard to write him out a check every month, especially when I rarely call him, but it is worth it. The comfort of having a backup MD just in case is nice. Plus I have been able to increase the clinic's income by being able to see patients from some select insurances that I would not otherwise be able to help. Also, it is important to be able to prescribe schedules II and III for the benefit of my patients.
A consulting MD may be expensive and you may feel some tiny amount of autonomy taken away, but I believe that it is a good idea to have one and my clinic has benefited by having one.
Aaron Hartle