In many medical specialties, both hospital and office based, national groups have become significant competitors.
Although there are many points on which to distinguish national groups from local groups, two stand out:
1. The national groups are in business.
2. They are in business to make a profit.
Is your practice really a business? Is it designed to make a profit for you and your fellow owners in return for your efforts on behalf of the group and in return for your taking on risk?
Or is it simply a framework that permits a collection of individuals to profit from their individual activities?
Are you in business or are you just running a club?
As the medical marketplace continues to shift, what chance does a club have against a real business?
Note that this is not in any way the same question as what does a local group have to offer in competition with a national one – the answer to which is capable of being “very much.” However, the local groups which will be successful in that competition will be actual businesses.
