Page 27 - The Dental Entrepreneur
P. 27
The Dental Entrepreneur
It is not the strongest of the species
that survive, nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to
change.”
Charles Darwin
CHAPTER 4
How To Choose A Location
The real estate cardinal rule of location, location, location has never been as important to the
health care provider as it is today. Hospitals are undergoing tremendous consolidation
nationwide and they are implementing strategies for how health care will be delivered in the
coming decades. Physicians are selling their private practices and teaming up with hospitals.
Others that are closer to retirement age and having the financial means are closing their doors
rather than face the new marketplace.
There are several lessons to be learned from this essential change as to how medical services
will be delivered in the future. Hospitals now employ physicians and are placing primary care
physicians throughout communities in hospital owned neighborhood clinics. The large medical
complexes in older areas of a town are simply too inconvenient to the growing population in
the suburbs. People only go to a hospital today if it is absolutely necessary and the length of
visit can be remarkably short.
The important thing for a young dentist to realize and you are entering a healthcare
marketplace that is the process of redefining itself. Obamacare will forever change how our
healthcare system delivers care. It is very much a work in progress.
In the same token, corporate dentistry is redefining the marketplace for many dentists. This
concept has been around for two or three decades but has only of late reached significant
momentum. The reasons are many but a primary one being the high cost of a dental education
and student loan indebtedness. It is simply too expensive and/or risky to set up a practice after
graduation. It is a perfect storm playing into the hands of the wall street hedge funds who see
significant profits in owning and operating dental clinics. These companies are generating
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