Yesterday Medscape released its annual Physician Compensation Report for 2020. The data collected between October 2019 and February 2020 showed an optimistic  picture of revenue growth since 2019.

However, life in the pre-COVID world feels like ancient history.  

In fact, the Medscape slide deck begins with a more sobering financial reality curated from other organizations, including data from the MGMA.  Impacts of COVID-19 include:

• Practices reporting a 55% decrease in revenue and 60% decrease in patient volumes.
• Hospitals and clinical groups implementing furloughs, pay cuts and layoffs.
• 9% of independent medical practices reporting that they have closed--at least temporarily.

In other words, the data confirms what you have been hearing in this community: physicians are experiencing acute financial pain.  

What does this mean for you? 

These challenges represent unprecedented opportunities for you. Physicians want and need your help.

If you have a lead generation/ nurture system for successfully engaging physicians, use it! Physicians will be open to your value in a way they have never been before.  

If you do NOT have a system that gives you reliable, repeatable results, I invite you to enroll in the  Cracking the Physician Code Master Course that begins Monday May 18th, 2020.  It's designed to help you set up proven systems to accelerate your practice growth by acquiring more doctor clients. Plus you can enjoy the added rewards of knowing that you are helping the physicians and dentists who are risking their lives to serve your community.  

If you have been on the fence about working with physicians, this is your time.

​Click here to learn more about the Cracking the Physician Code Master Course and reserve your spot.. 

How will physicians whose are not delivering "elective medical care" meet their ongoing expenses?

In addition to loans and advance payments through the SBA and CMS, there may be flexibility available through the Internal Revenue Service that could temporarily free operating capital or even offset prior years’ profits with losses caused by COVID-19.

Here are some questions you and your doctor clients can explore ( from the American College of Surgeons):

• Is my practice eligible for the employee retention tax credit? This is a refundable Social Security tax credit equal to 50 percent of qualified employee wages (up to $10,000 of wages for each employee); however, small businesses that take SBA loans like those made available by the PPP are not eligible. 
• Does it make sense for me to defer the Social Security portion of employer payroll taxes owed for the period between March 27, 2020 and December 31, 2020? (Note that the deferred amount must be repaid, with 50 percent of the deferred amount due by December 31, 2021, and the remainder to be paid by December 31, 2022.)
• Do any of the modifications of Net Operating Loss rules (such as allowing them to offset 100 percent of taxable income or to be carried back for five years) apply to my practice?
• Can I benefit from the temporary increase of the business interest expense limitation to 50 percent of adjustable taxable income for tax years 2019 and 2020?
• Does my practice have excess business losses for tax years 2018, 2019, and 2020 that can be used due to the suspension of limitations for pass-through entities and sole proprietorships?
• Can I claim 100 percent bonus depreciation for real estate and leasehold improvements placed in service after 2017?
• Are there other less common flexibilities such as greater limits on charitable deductions, alternative minimum tax credit refunds, or funding of defined benefit pensions that might apply to my situation?

We're at another inflection point in the COVID pandemic. In many communities, physicians and dentists are gearing up to return to elective cases.

This is a great time to pick up the phone and see how your doctor prospects and clients are doing.

Here are some questions you can bring to them:

General Questions:

• How are you and your family doing?
• How are you keeping yourselves safe and healthy?
• What do you miss most?
• What is your biggest challenge today? This should not be your first question; however, it may be the most important one. Every challenge is an opportunity for your to deliver value.

As Dr. Francis Peabody said, "For the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient." Show your doctor prospects and clients you care by posing these questions. 

 Professional Questions:

• What do you think your clinical calendar will look like in the next 30 days?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, what is your level of concern about meeting your monthly expenses?
• Are there any professional pivots you are contemplating?
• If you had a magic wand, what clinical problem would you like solved?
• Is there any way I might help you navigate the federal relief programs?

My guess is that physicians will still be most concerned about meeting their current financial needs; however, you may find that individual doctors are interested in addressing retirement planning.  

Networking Questions:

• What medical associations have offered leadership?
• What publications are you reading?
• What social media platforms are you frequenting?
• What questions are you googling?

These questions will help you identify platforms that could potentially sponsor a presentation you make, publish tips you might develop or distribute your "yummy treats"

Listen empathically.
Doctors' answers to these questions can guide your marketing efforts over the next few months. 

Stay safe and strong,  
Dr. Vicki

PS Would you like to acquire more doctor clients?  For the past decade we have offered our signature Cracking the Physician Code Course.  Participants take away a soup-to-nuts blueprint to accelerate their growth by acquiring more doctor clients.

We have completed updated the course content to reflect our current COVID world. We call it the Cracking the Physician Code Master Course.  

Whether you're a already working with doctor clients or you're just jumping into the medical market, you will take away actionable ideas to take your business to the next level of success.

We will begin recording the new content Monday, May 18th, 2020.  If you enroll this week, you get a bonus: you can join the daily  live sessions and gain access to live coaching.

Click here to learn more. 

© 2020. Vicki Rackner MD.  All rights reserved.  You may reproduce this blog post with the following by-line:
Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps financial advisors acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians run more successful practices. Contact her at (425) 451-3777.

Would you like to engage more doctor prospects through medical associations? This webinar offers you some tips.

​Click here to download a PDF of the slides.

I collect stories, and piece them together to see a bigger picture.

Yesterday a shocking story came my way from a financial advisor whom I had coached.

He began, "Dr. Rackner, do you remember that first physician client you helped me get? He was in his 60's and way behind in retirement planning? He's now 65 and the head of a hospital department. A few weeks ago he was furloughed. This week he was terminated. The hospital explained that they will no longer allow physicians over the age of 65 to see patients because of liability issues."

The advisor and I discussed possible next steps for this physician. While the advisor helped this client move closer to the possibility of maintaining his current lifestyle in retirement, they are still few years away.

Neither the advisor nor myself was present at the meeting in which the physician was terminated. Further, I am not privy to all of the considerations that might have contributed to this physician's termination.

However, I have heard multiple stories of hospitals who are deciding to revoke the admitting privileges of physicians over 65.

Will hospitals place age and health restrictions on physicians? If so, is this a violation of physicians' civil liberties? Is this restraint of trade? I will defer to legal experts to answer these questions.

However, cases like these take a while to wind their ways through the courts.

In the meanwhile, mature physicians like the one in this story are left with the question: "How do I maintain cash flow in the weeks, months and years to come?"

This is another opportunity for you to deliver value.  Click here to watch the webinar replay about how you can bring 10 revenue-generating ideas to physicians. Two decades ago, I pivoted from my career as a surgeon to a serial entrepreneur. I have personally executed all of these efforts except serving as a physician executive.  All have the potential to replace and exceed a physician's clinical revenue.

Remember, every problem that you solve is a way of proving your value.  The bigger the problem, the higher your value.

We have a saying in my home: For every problem, there is a solution.  

What ever challenges arise, we will find a way through! And we'll get through this together!

Stay safe and strong,  
Dr. Vicki

Here's the replay of the webinar "How Physicians Can Generate Revenue."  

As of April 30, 2020 many physician specialists are not doing "elective cases." For many doctors, this means that incomes are dramatically reduced. In this video, you will:
​
*Gain insights about physicians' current financial reality
*See 10 ways doctor can generate revenue in the COVID climate and
*Learn how to bring these ideas to doctors.

​Click here to download the PDF 

One of physicians' most frequently-asked question is, "How will I replace my lost clinical income?"

Here are some slides from my presentation 10 Ways Physicians Can Generate Income When They Hang Up the White Coat.  I have been delivering this talk for the past two years to physicians who are burned out and want alternative careers. Now physicians whose elective cases are cancelled could benefit, too!  

Two decades ago, I pivoted from my career as a surgeon to a serial entrepreneur. I have personally executed all of these efforts except serving as a physician executive.  All have the potential to replace and exceed a physician's clinical revenue.
​

Would you to see the presentation I deliver to physicians?  Click here to join me Friday, May 1st, 2020 at Noon Eastern/ 9 AM Pacific. I will show you how you can bring these ideas to doctors in your community. I will also show you 3 ways physicians can ramp up their clinical income. 

Stay safe and strong,  



© 2020. Vicki Rackner MD.  All rights reserved.  You may reproduce this blog post with the following by-line:

Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps financial advisors acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians thrive. 

Are you a financial advisor who would like to engage more doctor prospects and help more doctor clients? In this webinar, you will learn about doctors' current financial reality, learn about doctor and their relationship with money, and take away specific ideas about how to reach out to doctors TODAY.

​Click here to download a PDF of the slides. 

The Mayo Clinic--the largest private employer in the state of Minnesota--just announced a projected $3B loss for 2020.

It also announced plans for pay cuts and furloughs.

I recognize that financial pain is not equitably distributed throughout our society.  Physicians like me are very fortunate to get paid well to do the work we love. Further, healthcare is a sector that will be strong as we look at economic recovery. 

However, physicians and dentists will have significant financial pain. Retirement planning will not longer be a DIY job.

As we will turn our attention to financial recovery, whom will you serve in 2020? 

if you have ever considered working with doctor clients, this is your time! 

If you would like to learn more about what it's like to engage, acquire and serve doctor clients, please join us for a webinar Tuesday, April 14th at Noon Eastern.

You'll take away:

• Insights about doctors and their relationship with money
• The best practices of successful advisors in the medical market
• Tips about how to modify marketing efforts when it's difficult to get "knee-to-knee" with prospects.

Click here to register.

Stay safe and strong,
Dr. Vicki
​

I'm pleased to report that the online course I created for physicians--How to Jump into Telemedicine: The quick start training to conducting virtual visits is now available.  This step-by-step guide will help physicians get up and running with telemedicine services within 24 to 48 hours. 

This course is for:

• Physicians who want to generate revenue at a time in which their elective cases are cancelled
• Quarantined physicians who want to see patients from a safe distance
• Private practice physicians who want to generate an additional revenue stream
• Retired physicians who want to give back. 

Physicians can easily generate $10K a month by delivering telemedicine services full time.

You can view the course modules at Hope for Doctors. I encourage you to leverage this course as a "yummy treat" to doctors in your community to build trust--and build your list of doctors.

You have three options as you consider how to leverage this course as a marketing tool outlined here:

1. Simply distribute this link Hope for Doctors to doctors in your community.  While I offer this to you free of charge, I invite you to click on this link to make a $36 donation to the American Red Cross. 

2. Purchase The Telemedicine Bundle that includes a license for unrestricted distribution of the course as well as training about how to use this digital "yummy treat" in your digital sales funnel.  The fee for this bundle is $297.

3. Purchase The Custom Telemedicine Bundle  With this package you get:

• A branded page on which the course modules are embedded
• The ability to create a custom video welcome video ( We'll help you with the script and the production)
• A call to action video at the end of the course modules
• Training about setting up a digital sales funnel
• Exclusivity--we will only work with one advisor in a geographic area to give this person the competitive advantage. Right now only two areas are taken.  

The fee for this package is $2500.

For three religions this is a sacred week.  Wishing you a divine connection from which you can draw strength. Let's count our blessings!

Stay healthy and stay strong,
Dr. Vicki


© 2020. Vicki Rackner MD.  All rights reserved.  You may reproduce this blog post with the following by-line:
Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps financial advisors acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians run more successful practices. Contact her at (425) 451-3777.