Partnership in Pain

[foxtrot]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Just curious, is 5 years to partnership considered to be average for pain management? It seems like a lot to me. Also, do most folks have to pay their own malpractice after the first year of being with a small group?

 

[lobelsteve]

Just curious, is 5 years to partnership considered to be average for pain management? It seems like a lot to me. Also, do most folks have to pay their own malpractice after the first year of being with a small group?

Start looking.

 

[bedrock]

Just curious, is 5 years to partnership considered to be average for pain management? It seems like a lot to me. Also, do most folks have to pay their own malpractice after the first year of being with a small group?

no that's excessive. 1-2 years is normal. And no you don't have to pay your own malpractice, at least not until you're a partner.

This doesn't sound like a very fair situation, agree with steve, I would keep looking.

 

[foxtrot]

Thanks guys. It didn't seem that great to me either. I don' t like the idea of a long partnership and yet having to pay for a significant chunk of expenses when I am not even a partner (there were other expenses also). Back to the drawing board....

 

[specepic]

Thanks guys. It didn't seem that great to me either. I don' t like the idea of a long partnership and yet having to pay for a significant chunk of expenses when I am not even a partner (there were other expenses also). Back to the drawing board....

Through a combination of luck and my spidey sense, I now see that all the jobs I turned down would have been nightmares. At the time I relied on advisors and my gut. Trust your instincts.

 

[PMR 4 MSK]

Just curious, is 5 years to partnership considered to be average for pain management? It seems like a lot to me. Also, do most folks have to pay their own malpractice after the first year of being with a small group?

5 years is too long. 2 years common. If they don't trust you enough at 2 years, they won't trust you at 5.

Someone has to pay the malpractice. If you are salaried with bonus, it often comes out of the productivity your bonus is calculated from. If you are just salary, they should pay it. If they only pay you a small % of your collections as bonus, they should pay it. If you get a large %, you should pay it.

 

[101N]

5 years is insulting. Sounds like someone's looking more for an indentured servant than partner.

 

[Tenesma]

i have seen 5 to 7 year partnerships for very successful New York City practices... how many of the docs actually survived the 5-7 years and actually became partners is a different story...

 

[foxtrot]

I am just curious, do any pain folks out there try to get their tail malpractice insurance paid for in their contract or is it something you just suck up and pay yourself if you decide to leave?

 

[mille125]

I am just curious, do any pain folks out there try to get their tail malpractice insurance paid for in their contract or is it something you just suck up and pay yourself if you decide to leave?

For tail coverage it should be a simple formula. If the employee leaves then they pay their own tail. If the group asks the employee to leave without cause then the group pays the tail.

 

[Tenesma]

i completely agree with mille...

however, it doesn't mean that there can't be contractual negotiations about the tail coverage... it all depends on how desperate the group is for your services...

 

[foxtrot]

5 years is too long. 2 years common. If they don't trust you enough at 2 years, they won't trust you at 5.

Someone has to pay the malpractice. If you are salaried with bonus, it often comes out of the productivity your bonus is calculated from. If you are just salary, they should pay it. If they only pay you a small % of your collections as bonus, they should pay it. If you get a large %, you should pay it.

When one becomes a partner, should you be receiving a salary that equals 100% of your collections (minus your expenses)? What are the advantages of being a partner in a pain group?

 

[powermd]

When one becomes a partner, should you be receiving a salary that equals 100% of your collections (minus your expenses)? What are the advantages of being a partner in a pain group?

Depends on the structure of the business, but generally you will receive a reasonable but low-ish salary, and the rest of your income will in the form of distributions from corporate profits, which have a favorable tax rate (for now). Your share of the distributions depends on what % of the shares of the corporation you own, and likely your % of the billings.

Other advantages would be shared call, easier vacation scheduling, continuity of care for patients, more availability of appointments, greater efficiency of the practice.

Since our practice uses 3 docs to cover two FT physician slots, and there are always two docs working, we're as close to 100% efficient as possible.

 

[foxtrot]

Depends on the structure of the business, but generally you will receive a reasonable but low-ish salary, and the rest of your income will in the form of distributions from corporate profits, which have a favorable tax rate (for now). Your share of the distributions depends on what % of the shares of the corporation you own, and likely your % of the billings.

Other advantages would be shared call, easier vacation scheduling, continuity of care for patients, more availability of appointments, greater efficiency of the practice.

Since our practice uses 3 docs to cover two FT physician slots, and there are always two docs working, we're as close to 100% efficient as possible.

Sounds like a good setup. Wish more groups were like this.

 

[hyperalgesia]

Since our practice uses 3 docs to cover two FT physician slots, and there are always two docs working, we're as close to 100% efficient as possible.

Getting 1/3 of your time off is just plain wrong... For the rest of us!

 

[drpainfree]

with how the healthcare reform is going, 5 years down the road the survivability of any private practice (pain management included) is questionable. In 10 years, I predict most of private practices will not exist. so forget about partnership track, 10, 20 years ago it might have been a good incentive, not anymore. stay with fee-for-service model or salary model.

 

[powermd]

Getting 1/3 of your time off is just plain wrong... For the rest of us!

Better to enjoy some retirement now, since I probably won't be able to in the future!