Susanne Madden spoke to Dr. Bonnie Feola about her experiences with buying over an established pediatric practice and how she made it one her own, one step at a time.
Susanne Madden: We’re delighted to have an opportunity to chat with Dr. Bonnie Feola of Busy Bee Pediatrics this morning. Bonnie, thank you so much for joining us today at Verden ViewPoint and for taking the time to speak with us about your recently acquired pediatric practice.
Dr Bonnie Feola: I’m happy to chat with you!
Susanne Madden: The first thing that I really want to know is what inspired you to consider buying an already established practice? We often have clients that want to start their own practice to do it their own way but you went the route of acquisition. Was it just an opportunity that arose, or were you specifically looking to buy a practice?
Dr Bonnie Feola: Actually it was an opportunity that arose. I had always thought it would be great (wonderful) to have my own practice but I really never thought that I had the time to devote to starting a practice from scratch.
Being a pediatrician, being a parent and all the things that go into learning about medicine … earlier in my career I didn’t think it was an option in terms of my business experience and just not having enough time. Now I have much more experience and with my kids going off to college, the opportunity arose and by this time I had a few years of administrative experience and management experience. I thought “You know what? This could be a great opportunity for me” because I really felt that to start up a brand new practice — with all that’s involved— it could be overwhelming. When the opportunity came up to take over from a retiring physician at an up-and-running practice that I already worked in, I thought “This is a practice that I feel very comfortable in.” I quickly found that the staff and the retiring doctor felt the same way, so we really felt that it was a well suited match.
So it’s been wonderful and challenging acquiring the practice. It was already up and running, we had a panel of patients, had an established location and staff with experienced nurse practitioners that already worked there. Everybody wanted to stay and transition with me to the new ownership.
Susanne Madden: I think what’s really nice about that is the fact that you were actually working at the practice so you already knew everybody there and had a sense of how the practice was running, There is nothing like that “insider view” of the organization. You truly knew what it was that you were buying.
Susanne Madden: We’re delighted to have an opportunity to chat with Dr. Bonnie Feola of Busy Bee Pediatrics this morning. Bonnie, thank you so much for joining us today at Verden ViewPoint and for taking the time to speak with us about your recently acquired pediatric practice.
Dr Bonnie Feola: I’m happy to chat with you!
Susanne Madden: The first thing that I really want to know is what inspired you to consider buying an already established practice? We often have clients that want to start their own practice to do it their own way but you went the route of acquisition. Was it just an opportunity that arose, or were you specifically looking to buy a practice?
Dr Bonnie Feola: Actually it was an opportunity that arose. I had always thought it would be great (wonderful) to have my own practice but I really never thought that I had the time to devote to starting a practice from scratch.
Being a pediatrician, being a parent and all the things that go into learning about medicine … earlier in my career I didn’t think it was an option in terms of my business experience and just not having enough time. Now I have much more experience and with my kids going off to college, the opportunity arose and by this time I had a few years of administrative experience and management experience. I thought “You know what? This could be a great opportunity for me” because I really felt that to start up a brand new practice — with all that’s involved— it could be overwhelming. When the opportunity came up to take over from a retiring physician at an up-and-running practice that I already worked in, I thought “This is a practice that I feel very comfortable in.” I quickly found that the staff and the retiring doctor felt the same way, so we really felt that it was a well suited match.
So it’s been wonderful and challenging acquiring the practice. It was already up and running, we had a panel of patients, had an established location and staff with experienced nurse practitioners that already worked there. Everybody wanted to stay and transition with me to the new ownership.
Susanne Madden: I think what’s really nice about that is the fact that you were actually working at the practice so you already knew everybody there and had a sense of how the practice was running, There is nothing like that “insider view” of the organization. You truly knew what it was that you were buying.
Key Points for a Successful Practice Acquisition
- Look behind the curtain: nothing beats having an “insider view” by working at the practice before acquisition
- Slow and steady wins the race: roll out changes over time, being sensitive to both staff and patients
- Meet patients’ ‘tech’ expectations: don’t underestimate the need for web-friendly access through your website and social media channels
- Make tech work for you: choose a specialized and customizable EMR and take advantage of education and technical support
- It’s a group effort: work collectively with staff to implement change so they can take ownership in the improvements
- Know what you don’t know: know when to ask questions and get expert advice
- Network with other physicians: get peer support and benefit from the exchange of knowledge and experience from members of a group like SOAPM
- Find the balance: adjust your schedule to allow for business management hours, and, most importantly, don’t lose a healthy work/life balance
