Healthcare transactions are demanding. Months of due diligence, data requests, negotiations, document revisions, legal reviews, and mounting professional fees often leave everyone focused on one objective—getting the transaction closed.

By the time closing documents are ready for signature, physicians, hospital executives, attorneys, consultants, and practice administrators are often ready to move on. The natural tendency is to assume that the difficult work is complete and that implementation will simply fall into place.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Transaction fatigue can cause participants to stop asking important questions at exactly the wrong time. Physicians assume the acquiring organization has a well-developed transition plan because “they’ve done this before.” Hospital representatives assume physicians understand how the practice will operate after closing. Those assumptions are not always shared—and they may not become apparent until after the transaction has closed.

Taking the time to confirm a shared understanding before closing may require a little more patience, but it often reduces uncertainty, strengthens implementation, and helps avoid unnecessary surprises later.

What I’ve Learned…

The closer a transaction gets to closing, the greater the temptation to simply “get it done.” In my experience, that’s often the time when one additional conversation can provide the greatest value by confirming expectations before they become misunderstandings.

Healthscope Decision Briefs share practical observations to help physicians, healthcare organizations, and their advisors make better-informed business decisions before important commitments are made. If you’re contemplating an important healthcare business decision, I’d be pleased to have a confidential discussion.