The One-Stop Shop for Doctors
With extensive experience consulting for doctors and medical practices, Cornerstone Healthcare Consulting and Management has built a trusted network of esteemed business professionals. Through our work, we’ve identified recurring challenges that many practices encounter, particularly in the areas of employee benefits and human resources. Beyond practice-level concerns, we often discover individual challenges faced by physicians, such as insufficient retirement planning or a complete lack of strategy. By partnering with exceptional experts, we deliver customized solutions designed to support both the operational needs of practices and the personal goals of physicians.
We proudly call ourselves the “One-Stop Shop for Doctors.” As a physician-focused healthcare consulting company, our mission is to provide tailored solutions for doctors, whether they are solo practitioners, part of a group, or practice owners. We specialize in addressing their unique needs, from managing social media and building a strong personal brand as a hospital employee to launching a new practice or revitalizing an existing one.
For every challenge, we bring expertise and dedication. And in areas where additional specialized skills are needed, we collaborate with top professionals within our trusted Cornerstone Network to ensure comprehensive, high-quality solutions. Whatever the scenario, we’re here to support physicians every step of the way.
When consulting for medical practices, we often find that employee benefits are an area in dire need of improvement. Two major categories where significant savings can be achieved are retirement plans and health plans.
In many cases, practices establish broker relationships for these benefits years earlier and then leave them unchecked. Over time, these brokers continue to earn commissions while offering little to no added value. Health plan premiums steadily increase each year, and many practices simply accept these hikes as inevitable. Meanwhile, retirement plans often go unnoticed, with practices unaware of the high percentage rates they’re paying, the performance of their investments, or the hidden fees involved.
At Cornerstone, our healthcare consulting services include a thorough review of employee benefits, and the results often leave practice owners stunned. We’ve uncovered retirement plans with fees exceeding 2%, excessive TPA costs, and inappropriate employee charges. For example, we recently helped one private practice save nearly $40,000 on their retirement plan alone.
By taking a closer look at these critical areas, practices can unlock substantial savings while providing better benefits for their employees.
When evaluating practice health plans, simply opting for the cheapest option might seem convenient, but it doesn’t truly address the needs of the practice. Instead, we take a comprehensive approach, analyzing the practice’s size and exploring opportunities that align with its unique circumstances. For instance, we worked with a practice in New York that was large enough to transition to a partially self-funded model. This strategic shift was projected to save them up to $30,000 in just the first year. Over time, as they gained a clearer understanding of their annual expenditures, they were able to take on more calculated risks, unlocking even greater savings.
At Cornerstone, we partner with Planned Futures Financial to address retirement plans for medical practices. Beyond retirement planning, we also evaluate a practice’s Group Life and Disability Insurance and assess whether a buy-sell insurance policy is in place. Surprisingly, many practice owners are unfamiliar with buy-sell insurance and, upon learning its purpose, often regret not initiating a policy sooner. While buy-sell insurance is crucial, it’s important to establish a clear succession plan before purchasing a policy.
Unfortunately, succession planning is a topic many practices avoid, often leading to contentious discussions down the line. For physicians considering partnership in a medical practice, one of the most valuable pieces of advice we can offer is to ensure that a robust succession plan is in place from the outset.
Each medical specialty brings its own considerations. For instance, in OBGYN practices, it’s essential to determine how partners are financially handled once they stop performing obstetrics. These important conversations, if delayed, often lead to conflict, so addressing them early is key.
Need support navigating these critical discussions? We can connect you with experienced healthcare attorneys to guide the process and ensure your practice’s long-term success.
When reviewing employee benefits, it’s crucial to take a comprehensive look at your human resources department as a whole. Far too often, we encounter practices operating without proper job descriptions for staff, or relying on outdated, paper-based descriptions that haven’t been revised in over a decade. If job descriptions are missing or obsolete, it’s likely that the employee benefits manual is also outdated—or doesn’t exist at all.
It’s surprising how frequently we see practices hiring staff without a clear job description or an employee manual. This lack of structure not only creates accountability issues but also leaves the organization vulnerable. Unsurprisingly, these situations often lead to workplaces plagued by toxic employees, who contribute significantly to operational challenges. Without established processes for addressing misconduct or managing termination, these problems escalate unchecked.
When was the last time your medical practice got a check-up? A simple review of your expense report could save you thousands of dollars. Perhaps your practice is thriving, but you’re unsure if your personal retirement plan is optimized or if you have adequate disability insurance. Maybe your operations are running smoothly, but you’re struggling to navigate social media marketing. Or you could be a hospital-employed physician looking to maintain your personal brand and improve how you market yourself. Whatever your needs, we’re here to help! Visit our website to explore our healthcare consulting services and schedule a consultation today.
