In this episode, interventional radiologist and vein treatment expert Dr. Chris Pittman and our host Dr. Aaron Fritts discuss the structure and benefits of management services organizations (MSOs).

As healthcare moves from a fee-for-service model to a fee-for-value model, MSOs have become increasingly popular. Dr. Pittman gives a brief overview of the services that these organizations can provide to independent physicians. These services can encompass billing, human resources, scheduling, contract negotiation, marketing, and any aspect of practice management outside of direct medical care. We discuss the benefits of joining an MSO, which include sharing resources within the network, offloading non-medical functions, controlling costs, learning best business practices, and ultimately, having more time and energy to deliver quality patient care. Additionally, having a network of practices allows each physician to have access to industry data and benchmark themself from operational, clinical, and patient satisfaction standpoints.

Dr. Pittman advises all physicians to have due diligence when deciding to join an MSO. He emphasizes the importance of determining the amount of physician autonomy that will be retained, evaluating the organization based on outcomes of past clients, and having an attorney look over agreements. In general, he believes that the most well-run MSO’s are the ones that focus on a single specialty and have physicians on their leadership teams.