2027 Evaluating Shared Services for Independent Medical Practices

Imed Bouchrika, PhD

by Imed Bouchrika, PhD

Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist

What are shared services for independent medical practices?

Shared services combine administrative resources across practices or place selected functions with a specialized provider. A practice might jointly purchase supplies with peers, use a common billing team, or contract with a management services organization (MSO) for several nonclinical functions. The defining choice is which work is shared and who controls it, not whether the practice uses an MSO.

Shared services differ from selling a practice or joining an employed medical group. An independent practice may continue to own its business and direct patient care, although the practical extent of that independence depends on its contracts, financing, and applicable state law.

Physician owners should map decision rights before comparing vendors: Who sets clinical policies, hires clinicians, controls bank accounts, owns records, and can replace the service provider?

For managers considering formal preparation to oversee these arrangements, MHA programs online with CAHME accreditation offer a healthcare-administration education path. A degree can strengthen management knowledge, but it does not replace contract review or practice-specific operating data.

Table of contents

How do shared services improve independent medical practice operations?

Pooling work can give a small practice access to specialized staff and standardized processes that would be difficult to maintain alone. A centralized billing team, for example, may offer consistent claim follow-up during vacations or turnover.

Shared purchasing may reduce the time each office spends negotiating routine supplies. Neither benefit follows automatically from scale: the service must fit the specialty's workflows and respond quickly when exceptions arise.

The strongest operating case usually concerns a documented bottleneck. If unanswered patient calls are the problem, evaluate scheduling coverage and escalation, not a broad outsourcing package.

If denied claims are the problem, test whether the provider understands the practice's payers, coding responsibilities, and appeal process. Assign an internal owner to every outsourced workflow so problems do not fall between organizations.

A practice that mainly lacks management capacity may first consider training its current administrator. One-year master's options in healthcare administration are one possible route, but the time commitment and cost should be weighed against targeted training or hiring an experienced manager.

What risks should practices assess before adopting shared services?

Operational dependence is the central risk. A provider may become difficult to replace if it controls scheduling configurations, billing records, reporting definitions, or key employee relationships. Practices should also examine service interruptions, staff turnover, inconsistent patient communication, cybersecurity exposure, and incentives that favor transaction volume over accurate resolution.

Ask what happens when the shared team makes an error: who identifies it, corrects the patient or payer record, bears the cost, and reports recurring failures? A provider serving several specialties may offer broad coverage yet lack the expertise needed for a particular practice's authorizations or claims. Obtain references from comparable practices rather than relying only on company-wide claims.

Outsourcing can also be the wrong response to a skills gap that the practice can solve internally. Before committing to a long agreement, owners comparing staff development costs can review economical online healthcare administration study options alongside short courses and employer training. Education may improve oversight; it will not by itself supply missing day-to-day staffing.

How do practices choose a reputable shared services partner?

Start with a narrow description of the practice's needs and request comparable proposals. Ask each provider to demonstrate the actual workflow, identify subcontractors, explain how reports are produced, and provide references from practices of similar size and specialty. Include the people who will use the service in demonstrations; they can spot gaps that a proposal may hide.

A sound selection process ends with a controlled implementation, not just a signed contract. These steps help preserve an alternative if the arrangement underperforms:

  1. Document the current workflow, costs, service problems, and decision rights.
  2. Compare proposals against the same scope, reporting requirements, security expectations, and exit terms.
  3. Check references and review the contract with healthcare counsel and relevant technical advisers.
  4. Set an implementation schedule, test data and workflows, and monitor agreed measures before expanding scope.

If the strongest proposal still does not address the practice's main constraint, keeping the function in-house may be preferable.

Owners weighing a new management hire or staff development against outsourcing can use a healthcare administration graduate program affordability guide to inform the education side of that comparison, not as evidence that a degree will outperform an experienced service partner.

Other Things You Should Know About Healthcare Administration Programs

Does a physician owner need an MBA to oversee a practice?

No. Financial literacy, management experience, and reliable legal and accounting advice matter more than a particular degree. An MBA may help an owner seeking broad business training, while a focused course may better address a specific gap.

Is an MHA different from an MBA with healthcare coursework?

Generally, an MHA centers healthcare organizations and administration, while an MBA provides a broader business core. Compare actual curricula rather than assuming either degree teaches the precise skills your practice needs.

Can a practice manager move into healthcare administration without clinical training?

Yes, many administrative responsibilities are nonclinical. The manager still needs to understand care workflows, professional boundaries, payer requirements, and when to defer decisions to licensed clinicians.

What should an owner learn before taking on more management work personally?

Start with the practice's weakest operating area, such as cash flow, staffing, or process improvement. Learn enough to interpret reports and supervise specialists, rather than trying to become the sole expert in every function.