It was not long ago that every new surgeon
or physician graduating out of medical school aspired to have his own hospital. It was always the “Ultimate Dream”.
But times have changed and so is the private practice scene in Mumbai. Group practice was always present, however it was almost always confined to a small group of people. Practice in the good old days was more a matter of heritance; father’s practice and set up passing down the generation. However with changing times, the scene of private practice also started changing drastically. Many factors contributed to this change of trend in practice.
First and foremost and thankfully, was from the patient’s point of view, the availability of a specialist at all times at a particular centre can be a boon.
For the physician, it can be difficult to get references from other specialists. And there was always the fear of the patient being “lost” in transit. This was overcome by having a multispeciality approach to the patient, where all the required references would be available under one roof. This immensely benefited the patient too, without having to run from pillar to post to search for a specialist.
It is not easy to start a new solo practice. There has to be always something new to offer. And this comes at a price. This is where group practice provides the solution. The more people chipping in, the better it is. It is a usual norm to have a specialist, each from a particular field. It helps to provide a wide variety of modalities with latest technology under one roof without making a big hole in a single person’s pocket.
Another important fact favouring group practice is a trend keeping pace with the thought of - work and enjoy. Old timers were known to just work, and work even more.
Newer generation doctors prefer to work and take time off regularly. But time was precious. And taking leave from routine practice was next to impossible with the fear of losing patient contact. With group practice, one can devote enough time to oneself while the practice goes on. It is not uncommon for clinicians to take leave in rotation so that work does not suffer.
Group practice allows scope for multiple attachments. A 2-3 hours practice in at particular place with similar attachments at other places have become the norm. This helps the clinician to be at 2 or more places at the same time, thus increasing his workload and area of practice.
Medical science is progressing at an extremely fast pace. It is always helpful to be abreast with the latest medical trends. However gruelling, work schedules usually do not allow for such updates. However, group practice allows doctors to take a sabbatical to learn a newer speciality/technique.
Major hospitals have also taken this form of practice seriously. The setting up of satellite clinics by major hospitals is on the same lines. There is always the urge to be at all places at all times. Hospitals do not want to be restricted to a particular locality and the trend of starting satellite clinics all over the city or for that matter all over the country is for all to be seen.
It is not only the clinical field where the trend of the group practice is seen.
As radiologists, we are very much a proponent of this trend. The cost of setting up a diagnostic centre, offering the best of technology with all modalities is no less than starting a small-scale industry. With multiple partners coming together and pooling resources, things do become easier and overall responsibility is shared. Usually 2-3 people with interests in varied branches of the same subject come together, along with few colleagues from other diagnostic fields as well.
The advantage to the patient is tremendous. He gets the best medical diagnostic technology has to offer from specialists in each field and with all possible facilities under one roof.
As for the partners, they are not bound to have “full time attachments” and there is always the scope of having multiple such centres all over the city.
It is not that group practice is easy. It is extremely difficult for like-minded people to come together and start a practice. It is all the more difficult for the same like-minded people to continue this for long. And chances are that, these ventures may fall off for various personal and professional reasons.
But this trend is very much here to stay. More innovative methods of practice will be seen in the future, but all on the track of group practice.
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