1. “Step up your game.” Mr. Weiss advises strengthening the relationships an anesthesia practice already has with the facilities at which it provides services, in order to maintain old contracts while searching for new ones.
2. Sell business expertise. Access untapped profits from internal business functions. Consider repackaging internal business operations into a separate management service organization that can provide those services to other groups for a fee.
3. Acquire and/or merge. “Instead of simply thinking of M&A from the perspective of a target, consider that your group can become an acquirer,” writes Mr. Weiss. There are a number of ways to structure a merger or acquisition, but chief benefits include an expanded service range and potential economies of scale.
4. Consider hybrid ventures. Competition is not the only mode of interaction between similar businesses. Cooperative ventures, limited scope joint ventures and alliance models can all provide benefits and are worth exploring, according to Mr. Weiss.
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