Overcoming the Risks of "Hanging Out a Shingle"
The unknowns and risks of going into practice on one's own are not for the faint-hearted in 2012. It is important to remember that there are reasons why the practice of medicine in solo office settings is no longer the choice of many primary care physicians entering practice. Overhead is costly in solo primary care practice. There are many issues, having little to do with the actual practice of medicine, which the doctor must confront, decemberide and manage. Federal legislation proposing accountable care organizations and medical homes will affect the practice of primary care in many ways, as yet unforeseen, and the financial implications of these can only be inferred from the current state of the regulations. The organizational requirements are onerous and undergoing perpetual interpretation. In starting a practice and opening an office, the practitioner and/or sponsor of the practice must be aware of the minefield of regulations, procedures, agencies and systems which have to be traversed to open, operate, and maintain a viable enterprise.