Healthy Practice

MAS Business Advisory Services and HealthyPractice^®

Running a successful business is no longer just a matter of having excellent clinical skills, you also need superior business support. And that’s where we can help – with professional advice, support and guidance on business-related issues. 

Our Business Advisory team has specialist health sector knowledge developed in the health sector to help MAS Members with:

• Succession planning
• Practice ownership
• Valuation
• Practice structures and agreements
• Practice financial and risk management information
• Employment advice.

And subscribers to our online MAS HealthyPractice® business support service have access to information and templates on all areas of business ownership, employment and management – all backed by our business hours advice line.

If your practice needs support with accreditation, be it Cornerstone or Foundation standards for general practice, BestPractice® for Vet Practice or Allied Health Sector Standards for specialist practice, we have resources  to help.

If you own or manage a health practice then HealthyPractice^® is a must. For more information contact us on 0800 800 627 or email business@mas.co.nz

Succession planning

Practice ownership can be a lifetime investment, but even when retiring at a pre-determined age, many health professionals fail to adequately plan for exiting their practices.

If you’ve put most of your working life into the business, a successful exit strategy and succession plan can help you attain the life you want, and deserve, in retirement. On the flipside, without an exit plan, you run the risk of not getting a reasonable return on your investment or being unable to sell your practice.  

Ideally you should have developed your succession plan 5 to 10 years before retirement and review it on a regular basis – but you should also be prepared for an earlier exit, perhaps a desire to change your lifestyle, an unexpected incapacity or an untimely death.

Practice ownership

Many health professionals have thought about practice ownership at one time or another.

Historically, in dentistry and general medical practice in particular, there were limited options to practice your profession aside from setting up a new practice or buying into an existing one. Today there is a wide range of ownership options available. If you’re thinking about buying a health practice, there are many things for you to consider, including the value of the practice and your ability to borrow funds for the purchase.

Business owners have the opportunity to reap the financial rewards of ownership for many years without the constraints of a fixed salary income, and business ownership should provide a return on investment over and above what a working non-owner earns.

If this additional income is sufficient to repay the borrowed funds over a reasonable time period, for example 4-7 years – or you have the ability to repay borrowings from other income sources – MAS will consider a loan to purchase a practice without the need for mortgage security. Once the debt is repaid, you will have acquired a valuable asset which, if managed successfully, should provide you with investment returns for many years to come.

Practice valuation

Although we do not value individual practices, MAS provides health sector information and valuation methods to Members and their professional advisers to assist with formal valuations. If you’re buying or selling a health practice, contact our MAS Business Advisory team on 0800 800 627 or email business@mas.co.nz

Practice Risk Management

Insurance plays a key role in managing practice risks and MAS has tailored Business Risks and Key Person cover to help protect your professional practice.

We also understand that having appropriate insurance protection is only one part of the total risk management solution for your business. For health practices, MAS has HealthyPractice^® templates and information to help with risk management and compliance related to health, business and employment legislation.

Employment advice

Through HealthyPractice^® subscribers have access to customised template employment agreements and contracts for service developed by our legal experts, along with position descriptions for most general medical, dental, vet and medical specialist practices roles.

The human resources and employment section is the most used area of the service and includes a business hours advice line to help step subscriber practices through any employment issues. We also provide employment related information to all MAS Members – contact our MAS Business Advisory team on 0800 800 627 or email business@mas.co.nz