Benefits of Using a "Vendor Specialist" to Assist Healthcare Practices with Office Openings, Expansions, and Relocations

The following article was published in the Atlanta Hospital News in April, 2009 By Jeffry Finkel In previous columns, I focused on providing information for existing practices on how to reduce expenses for vendor services such as telecommunications, merchant account processing, and banking. This column focuses on reducing expenses in three special situations: (1) launching a new practice, (2) opening a new location for an existing practice, and (3) relocating a practice. Launching a New Practice: Certainly, opening a new practice requires a great expenditure of time and money. Myriad tasks must be completed before a practice can even open its doors. New practices often hire medical management firms to facilitate the opening of a practice; projects include such things as procuring funding, obtaining licenses, negotiating managed care contracts, hiring staff, handling legal matters, obtaining credentialing, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Numerous other items require attention, some of which these consulting firms may not handle – such as setting up telephone systems and services, establishing merchant processing and checking accounts, purchasing office equipment, and contracting with an answering service (see comprehensive list below). A practice may plan to address these tasks “in-house”. However, outsourcing them to a “vendor specialist” may allow the physician to focus on medical matters related to launching the practice while the “vendor specialist” handles these other items. In many cases, the physician will not yet have hired any staff, so the services of a “vendor specialist” may perfectly complement those of a medical management firm. The types of tasks that a “vendor specialist” can handle include contacting vendors, obtaining proposals, negotiating agreements, and implementing services such as: Telephone equipment and wiring (including coordinating the installation with the telephone company and the contractor in cases of new construction or renovation) Monthly telephone services (i.e., local, long distance, fast access, and cellular) Banking Merchant processing Check guarantee and verification Electronic conversion of checks (i.e., electronic deposit of insurance and patient checks) Answering services Payroll set-up Malpractice and business insurance Shipping Transcription Foreign language interpretation Background music Cable television Waste management Laboratory services Landscaping Uniforms Linen Magazine subscriptions Practice credit card accounts Opening a New Location for an Existing Practice: Opening an additional location is not as involved as opening a new practice. Relationships with most of the necessary vendors already exist. Operating practices have experience with these vendors and the services they provide. These operating practices typically have a better idea of the services they really need than new practices do. Equally important, they may already be familiar with a vendor’s pricing and levels of customer service and technical support. Therefore, they often know whether they want to retain a vendor or consider switching to a new one. Still, the logistics of establishing these services at a new location can be complicated and time consuming. A “vendor specialist” can make the process proceed smoothly and eliminate the likelihood of any key tasks “falling through the cracks”. As well, using the services of a “vendor specialist” frees practice personnel to focus on providing medical care and addressing patient needs. Relocating a Practice: Relocating a practice has unique challenges – especially for a single location office since it does not have another office to treat patients during the move. A “vendor specialist” can help the practice make a smooth transition to the new office by handling many of the relocation logistics to minimize “down time”. Examples include: Helping hire a moving company Arranging seamless telephone communications so that the practice can continue functioning Notifying all vendors about the relocation so that they can continue providing their services without interruption (e.g., medical supply deliveries) Notifying publishers of medical journals and waiting room magazines far enough in advance so delivery is uninterrupted Whether you are opening a new practice, expanding the practice by opening another office, or relocating an office, consider using the services of a “vendor specialist”. “Vendor specialists” have the experience, expertise, time, and necessary contacts to handle these challenges quickly and cost-effectively. “Vendor specialists” offer various pricing models. You may want to consider hiring someone who charges a reasonable hourly rate and handles any size project (i.e., no minimum number of hours required). Jeffry Finkel is the President and owner of Overhead Reduction Services, LLC. He can be reached at Jeff@OverheadReductionServices.com or call (404) 995-9112.