The Pulse Blog | Gittleson Zuppas Medical Realty

How Your Practice’s Location Affects Your Success

November 9, 2018 Expansion, For Dentists, For Doctors, Real Estate Insights, Relocation

We’ve all heard it before: location, location, location. This is especially true for medical practices. It’s arguably one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your practice.

While a location that isn’t exactly ideal may save you money on rent, you’re more likely losing money by sacrificing the advantages that a prime location can offer.

Factors to consider

Whether you’re just starting a new practice, moving locations or expanding, make sure you consider these aspects of your practice’s location.

6 Common Medical Office Manager Pain Points and How to Avoid Them

September 18, 2018 For Dentists, For Doctors, Medical Offices

Keeping a medical practice running smoothly is one of the hardest challenges office managers face today. Having to juggle various administrative burdens while keeping your office fully staffed and maintained often takes a backseat to acquiring more patients.

Ensuring your patients’ satisfaction means tending to their worries and woes. The best way to do that is to have a staff that’s attentive, available, and extremely knowledgeable. Your staff must be willing and ready to meet with their patients one-on-one, give accurate and adequate information and offer each patient peace of mind.

How can you make that happen? Easy, follow these six tips.

Growing Pains of Electronic Health Records and the Impact on Healthcare Offices

August 30, 2018 For Dentists, For Doctors, Medical Offices

A millennial healthcare experience

A 25-year-old man goes in to see his doctor. He has a series of questions about symptoms he has and a few ideas of what could be wrong based on online research.

The doctor examines him, and she quickly rules out a couple of the man’s suggestions but finds one is a real possibility. She decides to order some blood work to confirm, submitting the order on her tablet. Then, she adds a few notes to the patient’s electronic chart.

The next day, the patient receives a text message notifying him that his test results are now available in his patient portal. He quickly logs in and reviews the info. It includes a message from his doctor, outlining a brief plan of action and direct contact number for any questions.

Sound familiar to you?

This is the landscape that every healthcare office either has entered or will enter in the near future.

Medical Real Estate Becoming More of a Priority

August 17, 2018 For Dentists, For Doctors, Real Estate Insights, Relocation

Healthcare systems used to think about real estate in terms of finding four sturdy walls and a roof that fit their bottom line. But, in 2018, healthcare executives are becoming increasingly strategic in their real estate decisions, labeling it as a high priority.

The factors that have spurred this shift are lower reimbursements, the entrance of nontraditional healthcare delivery and the aging population. Healthcare executives are now making it a top priority to control costs, improve efficiency and increase returns on their real estate investments.

Healthcare real estate is no longer strictly a liquid asset that is managed to increase cash flow and free up capital for other projects. Now, healthcare real estate is seen as a way to improve the sustainability of operating margins.

Timing is Key: When to Begin Your Real Estate Transaction

July 16, 2018 Expansion, Real Estate Insights, Relocation

As the adage goes, “Timing is everything.” This applies to real estate as well, especially when you are searching for that perfect place for your medical practice to call home.

How do you know when to start? You don’t want to be the little piggy that went to the market too early or too late. Too early, and landlords or sellers may not negotiate with you yet, or they’ll expect you to be ready to move forward immediately. Too late, and things get real expensive real fast.

The reality is that most people underestimate how long it takes. Set yourself up for success by understanding how long different transactions take. Here’s a breakdown of timelines for the most common situations and how to navigate them.

The Boutique Retail Approach to Healthcare

June 27, 2018 For Dentists, For Doctors, Medical Offices

Healthcare is and always has been an industry that changes rapidly. 2018 has been no different, but this year the trends have focused on value, quality of care, and patient outcomes.

Many medical practices have been scrambling to try to figure out how they can deliver the best patient care experience while continuing to turn a profit. This challenge has become more and more difficult due to high overhead, tightened government regulations, and only a finite number of hours in the day with which to devote to patients.

Micro-Hospitals On The Rise

June 15, 2018 For Doctors

As baby boomers age and patients increasingly seek care in non-hospital settings, micro-hospitals are emerging as a solution for providing essential healthcare at the community level.

Capable of meeting up to 90% of local healthcare needs, micro-hospitals fill the gap between emergency departments and full-service hospitals. They deliver more services than typical outpatient or urgent care centers, including diagnostics, labs and surgery provision. Plus they’re efficient and economical to build.

The Growing Need for Data Security in Healthcare

June 7, 2018 For Dentists, For Doctors, Medical Offices

Healthcare security threats are ever-changing and ever-growing. And so are their associated costs. The costs of healthcare data breaches are among the highest of any industry. Each breach costs $380 per record — or $6.2B globally.

With 90% of hospitals reporting a breach, the risk of facing these costs is all too real.

Debunking A Myth: You Save Money By Not Using an Agent/Broker

May 14, 2018 Real Estate Insights

You wouldn’t perform surgery on yourself, would you? Whether you’re negotiating a lease renewal or looking for a new space, believe it or not, you won’t save money by eliminating the middleman. In fact, you may cost your practice more.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a commission pool built into most lease deals comprised of rental funds. If you don’t hire a broker to represent you, the landlord’s broker or leasing agent will take the full commission. If you are represented, the fund is shared with your broker or agent. Either way, the commission comes from the pot, not your pocket.

Give Your Waiting Room a Refresh

April 19, 2018 Medical Offices

When it comes to medical care facilities, they need to be designed in such a way that it is easy to change things around when necessary. Adaptability is the name of the game, especially as a medical practice grows and gains more patients.

Needs and demands change, and what worked well before may not work as well now. This fact can apply not just to the space and facility itself, but also to the equipment, technology, and even to how the facility is staffed and managed. Quality of care is the most important thing, and a facility that can adapt to provide care the most effective care is a facility that will continue to grow and prosper.

Industry Trend: The Rising Tide of Group Practices

April 6, 2018 For Dentists, For Doctors

For several years, the medical industry has been facing a major shift from private to group practices. Privately owned practices are increasingly giving way to group practices directed by larger corporations or to new providers aiming to offer services directly to patients — and primary care physicians are leading the trend.

There are several reasons why this shift is occurring; these include decreased profitability, operational challenges arising from reform efforts, and a drive for efficiency. Declining reimbursements and an increase in time spent on administration — not to mention the expense of integrating and maintaining electronic systems — are making the private practice less viable. But there are also larger market forces at play.

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