Not so many years ago, physicians, like other professionals, would complete their professional training and hang out a shingle, letting their selected communities know that they were available to provide services.
Most Physicians practiced alone, sharing after-hours calls with others in their specialty.
In those days, physicians were paid 95 percent or more of what they charged for their services.
Most used a pegboard and ledger cards to keep track of their accounts receivable.
Beyond a simple newspaper announcement for new practices and a brief listing in the telephone book, there was very little in terms of advertising for medical practices, or any other profession for that matter.
Other physicians were not viewed as competitors and most medical practices appeared to succeed financially and otherwise.
Oh, the good old days...
! Today, the intensity of medical practice competition in many communities has dramatically changed the landscape.
Long gone are the ledger cards and the 95 percent reimbursement.
Solo practices have merged to become single-specialty or multi-specialty groups, with many physicians preferring employment to entrepreneurship.
Hospitals have entered the medical practice arena by employing physicians in many communities and competing with members of their own medical staffs.
Physicians have returned the favor, capitalizing on new technology and capital to compete directly with other hospitals for lucrative diagnostic and therapeutic services.
The shingle has been replaced with billboards, television advertisements, Web pages, radio spots, direct mail, large Yellow Page ads, lighted signs, and more.
In many communities, medical professionals "compete" for the attention of patients and referring physicians, whether they admit it or not.
Building and maintaining a viable medical practice in competitive settings have become more difficult with each passing year.
Thankfully, the fundamentals of growing a medical practice are still very much in place.
The majority of new patients selecting a primary care practice come via word-of-mouth referral from a friend or relative.
New physicians will often select the same specialty patterns as their more established partners-again, word-of-mouth.
However,in today's highly competitive markets, attracting and maintaining those word-of-mouth referrals and referral patterns have become increasingly difficult and cannot be left to chance.
Physicians nowadays have discovered the value of applying fundamental marketing principles to the challenge of developing medical practices in competitive settings.
It's a Jungle out there.