“Healthcare Valuations have never been more challenging,” according to Don Barbo (Hill Schwartz Spilker Keller LLC).  Barbo—a frequent speaker on healthcare valuations (most recently at the AICPA National BV Conference in New Orleans), says this field is rapidly changing due to reimbursement issues, loopholes quickly opening and closing, advances in technology, and Medicare fee changes.  To track the latter, according to Mark Dietrich, also a frequent healthcare contributor, is the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) annual report to Congress; the 2007 update is available here.  Another significant and often-overlooked source for future physician supply: AAMC.org, which provides statistics on total med school enrollment and graduates, among other data. 

The most important issue when appraising a medical practice, these experts say: work with your healthcare attorney and understand the buy-sell agreement.   Join Barbo, Deitrich, Carol Carden, and J.D. Epstein for the next BVR teleconference on “Healthcare Valuation” on February 20, 2008, when they’ll update industry sources, discuss the latest technological advances, recent changes in the regulatory environment, and more.  To register, click here.