How to know when the time is right to add another physician to your practice

Judgments about when and whether to add a new physician to your medical practice are among the most difficult and important business decisions that you are likely to confront.

A new physician can provide a clinic with increased revenue opportunities, a fresh perspective on clinical care and business operations, plus improved work-life balance for the practice’s existing physician(s).

 “A badly organized practice can find it hard to assimilate a new doctor—and if there aren’t enough patients to keep doctors busy, this will create a lot of unhappiness.”
-Aniruddha Malpani, MD, medical director of Malpani Infertility Clinic in Mumbai, India

Conversely, adding a new physician has the potential to saddle a practice with a slew of additional expenses, lead to conflicts with staff and other doctors, and potentially upset patients who...