Don’t Let Sunk Costs Torpedo Your Practice’s Future

Ophthalmologists are trained to provide the full spectrum of eyecare, from prescribing glasses to precision eye surgery. Yet while they may be experts at treating patients, very few have business degrees or specialized practice management skills. Poor real estate decisions and bad hires, for example, are common mistakes that constitute part of the typical learning curve. However, many doctors make serious financial mistakes that can devastate their businesses, such as choosing the wrong electronic health record (EHR) and then sticking with it because of sunk costs.

In economics, a “sunk cost” is any past cost that’s already been paid and cannot be recovered. Since the money already has been spent, the idea is that it can’t (and shouldn’t) factor into future business decisions. After investing 5 years and tens of thousands of dollars in an EHR, Hirshfield Eye Associates was like many practices that have an extremely difficult time accepting that it is time to switch to a new system.

To read the full article on EyeWorld, click here.