Moving — The word alone conjures up horribly strenuous experiences both personally and professionally. But, given the turbulent commercial real estate market where your landlord yesterday is not your landlord today and given the number of doctors considering ownership, it is a necessary evil.
While moving is certainly a major undertaking, it can by systematic and seem effortless given a proper relocation team. The Robert S. “Bob” Lowery representation group has provided some of the biggest mishaps that physicians make when embarking on a move, and how to avoid them.
1. Schedule proper time to plan and execute the move.
Don’t wait until four months until your lease expires to call any relocation team. Personally, we prefer to have two to three months just to assist in the planning of a move, given it relatively moderate size office space with around $1 mil in equipment.
If the relocation includes design, construction, and/or furniture and equipment purchasing or installation, nine to 12 months is an ideal time frame from site selection to commencement of lease.
In real estate relocation and expansion, we have not determined a month that is better than another. We allow the medical practitioners to provide us with a window. For instance, may there be a slower period for your organization in which it would make sense to devote time and effort to a move?
2. Be involved in the process.
Many physicians will appoint the entire moving project to administration or staff members to be concerned, typically during the 11th hour, with the execution of the original process undertaken. Keep in mind that it’s your business, not the employees you hire. From a broker perspective we are always searching for decision-makers to control the process. We have seen way to many expansions scrapped because of poor planning from administration.
Administrators may come and go, but the doctor remains a staple. At the very lease, schedule and be present at project-planning meetings, touch base with your administrator or office manager at least once a week (either in person or via email) so you’re up-to-date on moving details, get to know any moving consultants you may hire, and be involved in the process.
3. Pay close attention to the details.
Don’t sweat the small stuff, phooey. The relocation expansion process is where the sum of the parts actually make the whole, rather than the opposite. For instance, it is important to make sure IT and telecommunications systems are installed and tested prior to move-in to ensure claims processing upon your organization having the grand opening.
Notify the community of your address via marketing; postcards, letters, emails and/or phone calls—that includes patients, couriers and other vendors, as well as payers if you bill in-house. Post a sign in your waiting room with your new address and contact information, moving date and the date your office will reopen, and give patients business cards with your new information as soon as it is possible.
We recommend having your administrator confirm with the appropriate vendors, the appropriate licenses and permits you will need to run equipment and store chemicals and/or medications. Depending on the size of the building, the percentage of medical tenants and your lease terms, your building management may monitor the status of licenses and permits, but the responsibility ultimately lies with the docs.
Also, make sure your administrator coordinates the insurance needs for the new location with a preferred insurance broker. Insurance requirements vary based on the value of resident equipment, technology and specialized build-out.
4. Hire a moving company that is experienced in ‘medical office’ moves.
Medical offices have a large amount of data files, handling them during the relocation is important so as not to violate HIPPA regulations. Companies that have moved similar file material and medical equipment successfully reduce the risk to the project and have developed proven systems for ensuring the confidentiality of the data and the re-installation of the equipment. This may sound like a stretch, but at the end of the day, it is comes down to entrusting a relocation team with the most private information.
Hiring a moving company that specializes in moving medical technology and equipment will ensure that it is up-and-running when you re-open. These companies are competitively priced with other movers, and they may be worth their weight when dismantling, boxing and recalibrating sensitive medical equipment during the move. Their proposal should clearly outline their experience. You may contact your references or chose to work with an educated medical real estate broker referral.
5. Understand there are undisclosed costs for a move.
We recommend getting an itemized invoice or statement that tells you exactly what the movers will do for you and how much it will cost. Then you may decide what makes sense for your staff to perfrom versus having the movers perform it.
Ask plenty of questions: Is there cost in changing contracts for in-office clinical or office equipment? Can you get a price break if you move some items yourself? How much does moving insurance cost or is it included—and what does it cover?
It’s also wise to get more than one bid so you can compare apples to apples for moving. Our team will provide your group with three bids that will provide you good sense of what the going rate is and which company is offering the best value for their services.
6. Eliminate or downsize unneeded items before the move.
If you have not used it in 5 or 10 years, be sure to rid yourself of it, because you’ll spend unnecessary time and money figuring out what to do with it on the back end.
Allow your team to consider what should stay or go
7. Have a “go-to” person on staff.
Have one person who is capable of being in charge of all the details for the move, even if several people are providing input. It is intelligent to appoint a backup to the point person so that your staff and the moving company can get answers in a timely manner during the planning and moving process.
8. Have a “backup” for emergencies.
The unimaginable will happen. The phone system will not be ready for your new office. Your point person will be out sick on the day of the move. We will help plan for every possible disaster. Through our experience, we can imagine every unpleasant scenario that can occur. We have seen it. It’s this type of strategic planning that can make the difference.
Physicians and practice administrators will determine their space needs when they move into a new building, whether they will be adding a member or ancillary service. We find that medical practices often negotiate space considerations right around lease renewal time. These practitioners realize that an effective medical office design can reduce real estate costs, improve patient care, and boost staff performance, as well as morale. 
