Planning
for Doctors and Dentists
In
medicine, patients come to physicians when their bodies are unable to heal
themselves. Patients who delay
seeking medical treatment are missing out on the power of modern medicine and
failing to take advantage of an opportunity to dramatically improve their
health. Similarly, the financial
and legal ailments impacting your medical or dental practice cannot be healed
without professional care. Simply
working harder and hoping that your practice’s problems will solve
themselves is just as foolish as the patient who places hope on his body
healing itself. In addition, you
may not see any “problems” yourself, but you will not be working at
maximum efficiency without consulting an expert.
The
successful practice of medicine in the 21st century requires so
much more than clinical expertise and good bedside manner.
The days of simply seeing patients and waiting for substantial income
to be deposited into your bank account are long gone.
Successfully practicing medicine now requires expertise in disciplines
that were never even mentioned, let alone taught, in medical school, residency
or even in a fellowship. How are doctors
supposed to learn how to protect themselves from billing and coding errors,
employee lawsuits, health insurance fraud, HIPAA violations, Medicare fraud,
and OSHA issues? Where will doctors
find the time to learn and understand asset protection, business structuring,
estate planning, insurance management, investments, benefits structuring, and
tax planning? How can you do all
this while continuing to stay abreast of important clinical developments and
still find time to see patients and earn a living?
This is what doctors MUST know how to do if they want to successfully
practice medicine in the 21st century.
It
is no surprise that 99% of physicians do not properly handle the financial and
business issues that affect their career. Why?
It isn't because they aren't smart, its
simply because doctors have had absolutely no training in these
matters. The typical physician may
receive over 10 years of clinical training by the time medical school,
residency and fellowship are completed. This
is over 3,500 days. How many days of
training have you received on topics such as asset protection, compensation
arrangements, taxation, investing and retirement planning? How
many days on malpractice insurance options, partner buy-outs or disability
protection? What about employee
training, contracts and practice management?
With
this complete lack of non-medical training, it is a wonder that any medical
practice survives. Imagine how more
economically efficient and less stressful the business of medicine could be if
you had been properly trained in all of the above fields.
How much better protected would your wealth be from lawsuits?
How much more income would you bring home?
How much smoother would your practice run?
Imagine.
While
we cannot attempt to change how the U.S.’s medical establishment trains its physicians, we can make the following
urgent recommendation:
Make
today the first day of your self-imposed training program by dedicating time
to become educated about the non-medical issues that affect your business and
personal financial situation.
Contact
our office at 650.525.0234 to:
-
learn
more about our CME- approved course for physicians;
-
request
articles for your association newsletter or journal or trade publication;
-
pre-order
your copy of For California Doctors, co-authored by Lori
Adasiewicz, Esq., at 50% off the cover price (scheduled for release first
quarter of 2009); or
-
schedule
an initial visit to review your particular situation to determine what
comprehensive planning steps are right for you.
|
