Suppose you are an independent physician with a successful practice… After a while, the sustained growth of your patient base may just have you thinking that you want to add another provider. Now the question is, what kind of provider should that be? Another physician? Possibly. However, there are many reasons you may want to consider bringing on a non-physician provider (NPP) – either a Nurse Practitioner or a Physician Assistant. And here is why:
REASONS TO CONSIDER AN NP OR PA:
Return on Investment – and cost – are obviously two of the top reasons that practices hire an NPP rather than another physician. NPPs are not paid as much as physicians, but they can still bring in quite a bit of revenue. According to a recent AANP study, the average Nurse Practitioner brings in at least twice as much in collections ($250K – $450K) as compared to their average total compensation ($120K – $140K.) And did you know that the average private practice reports a 20–35% margin improvement when expanding care teams with an NPP?
Numerous studies and surveys show that employing PAs/NPs tends to increase a practice’s revenue after operating costs. An MGMA analysis of 2,900 medical groups found that “with increased staffing come much larger gains in revenue after operating cost, as well as productivity,” underscoring the financial upside of adding nonphysician providers. In fact, practices with a higher ratio of PAs/NPs to physicians earn more revenue after costs than those with fewer — regardless of specialty. This happens because PAs and NPs enable practices to see more patients and bill more services without proportional increases in fixed overhead. For example, family practice clinics generate about $2.68 in revenue per dollar of PA/NP salary, slightly above the $2.62 per dollar for physicians.
IMPROVED PATIENT CARE
Another great reason to hire an NPP is improved patient care. Both Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners are trained to diagnose and treat a wide variety of conditions and diseases. They are known for being excellent caregivers in terms of a holistic approach to care – often emphasizing patient education and preventive medicine. When NPPs take care of the more routine cases, it often frees up physicians to handle the more complex cases – thus improving patient outcomes. And the NPP you hire may have extensive training and experience in a specialty or sub-specialty that really rounds out the knowledge base of the providers in your office.
Have you been thinking about expanding clinic hours – possibly into evening or weekend hours? Or considering adding a service line like wellness visits or chronic care management? Hiring a Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner just might be the right option for you.
Another reason you, as an independent physician, may prefer to hire an NPP over a physician, is to preserve the internal dynamic of the role you command in the practice. As the only physician in the practice, it is clear that you are the lead clinician.
THE SELECTION AND HIRING PROCESS:
Of course, as with any opportunity, there are factors to consider and a process to handle when searching for – and hiring – a new Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant. Consider engaging DoctorsManagement to handle the process for you. First, you will probably want to have the open position posted on a general online job board – like Indeed. Many practices have also had successes in finding the exact right candidate via specialized job boards like the one offered by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. For a modest cost, you would have access to a targeted talent pool.
You will want to have a clear idea what overall focus and specific tasks your NPP will be responsible for. For example, will you want them to handle more of the follow-up visits – or patient educations – or something else? You can state your preferences for the NPP’s skill set in the job post. After narrowing down candidates from the resumes received, you would then ask the right questions in the job interview to get the kind of NPP you want for your practice.
MAKING THE PROCESS EASIER AND MORE EFFECTIVE:
The HR department here at DoctorsManagement can handle all of that for you to get the best candidates for your practice – for a very competitive fee. We handle the review of all incoming resumes, interviewing the best candidates by phone and video meetings, and setting up interviews for you to meet the cream of the crop.
We would also assist you with Job Offers (both in crafting the job offer package and making the actual offer), as well in Onboarding the chosen NPP into your practice with all the regular new hire paperwork. And if needed, you could also easily access our Credentialing Department to cover your bases in credentialing.
To get more information about how an NPP might be the right fit for your practice, contact DoctorsManagement today!
