The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to most businesses, including private practices. All over the world, the lockdowns have caused devastating loss of millions of Americans in 2020, leading to mass unemployment.
The restrictions, as well as fear of the virus, has also badly affected the healthcare industry. All are required to reduce the number of patients they accept each day to prevent infections within the facility which means lower revenue for several months.
In one California clinic, up to 80% of patient visits had to be postponed because of the pandemic. As a result, the owner was unable to pay rent, utilities, and staff. To keep afloat, they had to let go as much as two-thirds of their employees.
Some have already closed and more are considering selling their private clinic because of the ongoing economic and public health crisis.
Finding the Value of Your Private Clinic
The process of selling and buying medical practices happen regularly, even prior to the pandemic. There are numerous other reasons why medical professionals make the decision to sell but the most common is age. When they retire, they obviously can no longer oversee the operations. A new management, therefore, can swoop in and keep the clinic open, continuing to serve the community.
Others, especially right now, may sell their clinic because of a lack of funds. A medical practice is still, at the end of the day, a business. Work has to be done in order to promote services and attract new customers.
However, before the sale, it is important to know how much you can ask potential buyers for the clinic. It is difficult to decide on the price for an item that you have strived to work hard for and invested all your time, money, and energy in.
Getting an Appraisal
Finding someone who knows a thing or two about selling medical practices should be your first step. They have to be in the same field as you are so that they would know the value of all your equipment and the potential of the clinic.
So, for example, people who are selling an audiology practice need to seek advice from professionals and services that operate in hearing loss and other related disorders. Otherwise, they may provide inaccurate recommendations which may hurt your chances of finding a suitable buyer and gaining the money you put into starting the practice.
Identify Your Strengths
Before you sell, you have to identify what exactly will make the practice desirable to potential buyers. If you are operating within a community as a solo doctor, one of your strongest assets is your list of patients.
If your patients are loyal to you and your clinic, potential buyers would likely be interested. If, for example, a competitor opens their doors, there will be an assurance that members of the community will continue going to the same clinic whenever they have the ailment.
Of course, it is also your responsibility to choose a buyer who is capable of providing the same quality of care to your patients.
A private practice that has a loyal patient roster will likely attract institutions who want to expand their reach or new doctors who do not have clients yet.
Fix Your Reviews
In every business, review matters. If you receive positive feedback from your patients, you likely will attract many potential buyers. However, if the private practice has a negative reputation, you will have a harder time finding a buyer and selling the clinic for the price that you want.
You need to fix reviews, but do not attack the reviewers. Doing so will only aggravate the situation further. What you need to do is to ask your patients, who you know are happy with your service, to leave a good review online. Check various review sites, including social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for feedback.
Arrange Relevant Documents
Part of the tasks of the owner after making the decision to sell is to arrange all documentation, including the financial performance of the clinic prior to and during the pandemic. An interested buyer will definitely want to see and assess the performance of the clinic before closing the sale.
Go over the paper as soon as you can so that, when interested parties come knocking, you have something to show them.
Selling a medical practice because of the pandemic is tough, especially when you are not ready to retire yet. However, it does not mean that your venture has failed. What you started will still live on and, eventually, you can stand back up and begin again.
