Nice gift in today's mail

[disneysteve]

I'm in the process of getting a part-time job with a local hospital system in their urgent care centers. I sent in the whole medical staff application packet a couple of weeks ago. Along with all of the paperwork, there was a $525 fee required so I sent my check as well.

Today, I get mail from the hospital with my check inside along with a note that the fee is waived when you are actually joining the hospital medical group (as opposed to an independent doctor just wanting hospital privileges). In other words, I'm actually going to be employed by the hospital system itself and there's no charge for that. So they sent back my $525.

That was a very nice surprise.

Between that and finding out yesterday that we'd be getting a tax refund, it's been a good week!

[bjl584]

Very nice.

I may have missed it, but what is your strategy for getting a part time job?

Extra income, or is this planting the seeds for a transition into semi-retirement?

[disneysteve]

I may have missed it, but what is your strategy for getting a part time job?

Extra income, or is this planting the seeds for a transition into semi-retirement?

I posted details in my blog but not so much here.

Basically my current job of 16 years has been slowly dying - independent private practice. Between changes in the insurance industry and government regulations, private practices are doomed. The administrative burden is burying us and income has been falling every year for a decade or more. I've only been able to hang on this long because we are so good with our money but everyone has their limit and we've hit ours. We can't afford for me to keep working here much longer.

Urgent Care centers are popping up all over the place, and they are also cutting into our business, so I've decided it's time to make a change as I can't deny where things are heading. I'm going to start on a per diem basis for one of the urgent care systems affiliated with a large hospital group. My plan is to do one or two weekend shifts per month to see how I like it. If nothing else, that will bring in some extra dollars. If it works out well, I will figure out how to transition into doing more of that. I don't know if that will mean leaving my practice entirely or cutting back in the practice and splitting my time.

Financially, it would make the most sense to do urgent care full time as the pay is phenomenally better, but I generally enjoy what I do now. If I was getting decent pay for doing it, I probably wouldn't be looking elsewhere. So if I can find a happy medium, I might consider that. It all depends on what makes sense for the doctor I work with. He may prefer to just replace me with a new guy who will work full time. Too soon to speculate.

[rennigade]

Urgent Care centers are popping up all over the place, and they are also cutting into our business

We just recently had 2 urgent care facilities open up within 2 miles of where I live. Im not even sure what the benefits are of those places? I guess you can just walk in at any time without an appointment and see a doctor. I also believe copays are a lot less than visiting an ER.

[disneysteve]

We just recently had 2 urgent care facilities open up within 2 miles of where I live. Im not even sure what the benefits are of those places? I guess you can just walk in at any time without an appointment and see a doctor. I also believe copays are a lot less than visiting an ER.

Yes, they can handle most routine stuff that folks would normally go to an ER for as well as things you would normally go to your family doctor for like sports physicals, strep throat, minor injuries, stitches, vaccines, etc. The benefit of UC is a much shorter wait and faster turnaround time, lower costs, no appointment needed, and longer hours than your family doc. Many are open 12 hours/day, 7 days/week.

[dawnwes]

Free Disney trip!

(sorry, couldn't help myself. My friend and I make jokes about people saying their trip was free when they have DVC or get a tax refund and use that and say it was "free.")

[disneysteve]

Free Disney trip!

I wish $525 would pay for a Disney trip. In reality, it's just going to pay the bill for my wife going to the eye doctor and getting new glasses last week which isn't nearly as fun or exciting.

[ua_guy]

Wow, receiving a $525 check back to you is a nice surprise indeed!!

I'm seeing the demise of the private practice from a different angle...working for a large hospital group myself (not a doctor or care provider, but the business) we've been flooded with clinics integrating into our health system and also seeing some very interesting business ideas--opening a walk-in clinic in a shared space with a Safeway grocery store--for example. It seems being affiliated with a hospital or large physician group, or chasing a speciality, is the only way to make real money these days as a private practice family doc--and urgent care is very profitable too! We're also doing tele-health and virtual doc stuff too.

For better or worse, "Obamacare" has flooded our providers, and outside our health system, my own primary care doc barely has the time to see me anymore! Urgent care has been my go-to like when I got sick just before New Year's and ended up with a very painful ear infection on NYE. Walked into urgent care and inside of 30 minutes they had me turned around with scripts and home care instructions and discharge paperwork. Not bad at all.

[disneysteve]

It seems being affiliated with a hospital or large physician group, or chasing a speciality, is the only way to make real money these days

my own primary care doc barely has the time to see me anymore!

The regulations and requirements that Medicare and other insurers keep coming up with get worse by the day. Nobody thinks about the time and manpower needed for practices to meet those requirements, and the associated cost. We had to higher a new full time person last year to handle that stuff and we still can't even come close to keeping up with all that they want us to do.

In a large practice or hospital system, they have the infrastructure and financial means to keep on top of all of it.

[DoreneHanson]

Thats such a good thing to hear!