How to increase the value of your clinic to sell

Whilst COVID has brought opportunity for diversification and innovation within general practice, the last 12-18 months have been quite difficult for all practices in keeping up with changes in this ever-changing environment. With changes occurring every 3 days in regards regulations, MBS items and operational processes this has required practiced to constantly and quickly adapt and keep up. As a result, general practice ownership fatigue has become a real thing!

Whether you are looking to sell for the above reasons, or just happy to move on to your next stage, there are some important steps and planning in advance required in order to build up your practice to ensure you are getting the best possible price for this!

The first and most important step when looking to sell your practice, is to determine the value of your practice and ways and opportunities to increase this. Not only will this will make it a more profitable and viable site, but more attractive to potential buyers.

Here are three tips on ways to increase the value of your clinic:

1. What is the revenue coming in?

• What is the current utilisation of MBS items and how can this be increased?
• Look at your data.
  • How many Item 23s are being billed compared to 36s (and time variances)?
  • What item numbers are being under-billed?
  • What is the current utilisation of your doctors, nurses and rooms?
• Start conducting training sessions for PM and doctors. This can involve a different focus each week to empower your doctors to utilise the MBS to its fullest.

2. Knowledge around your expenses….But not to the point it impacts operations and efficiencies!

• Go back and assess your expenses over the last 24 months.
• Create a financial forecast for the next 12 months and match this with your Actual monthly spending to determine trends.
• Breakdown each expense into different headings and subsections such as staff wages, marketing, IT, waste management and see where the opportunities lie, in reason.

3. Marketing- Reignite your existing patient base!

• Identify patients who are eligible for care plans and HMRs within your existing patient base.
• Analyse your patient data and create programs around their specific health needs (ie Diabetes Clinics, Iron Infusions, Women’s Health clinics) and promote these to your patients.
• Train your doctors and nurses to look at each patient wholistic and being opportunistic when patients do come in.
• Involve your whole team in marketing – ask doctors to send through photos and articles, and put together a consistent marketing schedule so you are constantly at the forefront of your patients’ minds.

Here at Practice Partners, we can assist in every step of the way if you are looking at possibly selling your clinic. Our experienced healthcare consultants can come in and do a full operational and financial review along with a strategy to help build your practice up and get the best possible outcome and price for your practice. Contact Us today to find out more!