Handle staffing issues early and honestly in every physician practice merger

Some of the thorniest territory relates to staffing, especially when it comes to deciding managers’ and administrators’ roles in the new practice. Problems often arise when physicians avoid the subject until after the merger is effective. Physicians often don’t want to deal with these hard decisions so a lot of times they say, “We’ll work it out,” and it usually doesn’t work. Conversely, some doctors insist up front that the office manager from their original group will oversee the entire practice. One of the hardest decisions in any merger is picking who will be the administrator for the new group.

Another hard decision is finalizing the overall group organizational chart. Physicians find it hard to have to lay off any of their staff members but often there is a duplication of job duties when physicians merger their practices. This part of the merger process is very delicate because you try not to cause any hard feelings. Unfortunately, hard decisions are going to have to be made with regards to staffing before the merger goes live.