Sneak Peek: Guide to Physician Practice Finance and Valuation, 4th Edition
BVR’s Guide to Physician Practice Finance and Valuation, 4th Edition, is out now and features a completely reworked look at the key issues impacting healthcare valuation. Enjoy this sneak peek of Part I.
Introduction
Defining the “market” for healthcare enterprises is no easy task. It is one of the most highly regulated sectors of the economy, subject to antireferral legislation as well as emerging antitrust enforcement. At the same time, much of healthcare remains fragmented and ripe for consolidation, at least in the view of investors. Physician practices are increasingly targeted by private equity, as well as challenged by investor-owned urgent care and other clinics that raid the patient base of traditional primary care practices.
Inflation is affecting all areas of the economy, and physician practices are no exception. Due to the decades-old pattern of nominal increases in physician payment rates, physicians generally respond to more intensive coding of procedures, which is described in Chapters 8 and 14.
Much of the competition in the market for physicians is between private-practice settings and hospitals/health systems. Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) play an important role in many of the procedural specialties because an ownership
interest can result in significant income enhancement for the physician, whereas hospital employment generally leads to procedures being done in the outpatient surgery department and all profits go to the employer.
Current Recruiting Data
Data for 2023 on annual recruiting engagements from Merritt Hawkins indicate that the specialties in highest demand include nurse practitioners, family medicine physicians, and radiology, the same specialties as the 2022 report. The demand for primary care physicians reflects a long-standing need for it, not only for patient care, but also for claiming patients for accountable care organizations and similar risk-based undertakings. The number of physicians in the U.S. increased at a compound rate of only 1.2% between 2000 and 2023.
Take advantage of the experience of renowned healthcare valuation thought leader Mark Dietrich's more than 45 years of experience through groundbreaking research, real-world examples, and in-depth explanations throughout the recently updated publication.