Accounting for Medical Practices Is Emotional

Working with medical practices can actually be an emotionally charged job, who would have thought?

Most people picture accountants buried in spreadsheets and tax files. And yes, there are numbers, strategy, and compliance. But when you work with doctors and practice owners, you quickly learn that providing excellent accounting service isn't just technical; it requires strong emotional skills and a genuine care for people. Practice owners don't need only numbers; they need someone who can support them through pressure, change, uncertainty, and the fundamental human challenges that come with running a healthcare business.

Accounting for Medical Practices Is Emotional

Practice ownership is not simply a business decision; it's usually purpose-driven, deeply personal, and tied to serving a community. With that comes a tremendous sense of responsibility to patients, to staff, to family, and to fulfil their own care vision.

When you consider the financial realities of healthcare, especially in General Practice, where bulk-billing pressures coexist with the need to remain financially viable, it becomes clear that supporting practice owners extends beyond technical accounting. It requires clarity, compassion, and a steady presence to help navigate decisions with confidence and care.

Over the last month, I've been reminded that my role is as human as it is technical.

When New Practice Owners Take the Leap

Recently, I spent time with new practice owners who have just signed a major commercial lease, a commitment big enough to keep them awake at night.

They are exceptional clinicians, but business ownership is a new venture for them. They don't yet feel fluent in financial concepts or tax structures. They are stepping out of their comfort zone and into an unfamiliar world filled with uncertainty and responsibility.

In those moments, my work extends far beyond setting up systems and cash flow models. It is about keeping things on track without overwhelming them, offering apparent oversight, translating complex financial realities into language that feels understandable and empowering, and ensuring they never feel lost or out of control.

My purpose is not just to manage the numbers but to build confidence, clarity, and calm.

When a Practice Is Carrying the Community

Then there are the conversations with practice owners who are doing everything they can to keep their doors open, supporting patients, leading their teams, and trying to remain financially viable in an environment where recruitment is difficult and funding models are stretched.

In some areas, practices are genuinely at risk of closing simply because there aren't enough doctors, or because rebates and reimbursements don't align with the real costs of delivering high-quality care. The pressure is immense. These owners aren't just making business decisions; they feel the weight of their entire community relying on them.

Sometimes they're exploring how to adapt. Sometimes they're trying to decide whether continuing in the same way is even sustainable. And sometimes they need space to acknowledge how heavy it all feels.

My role isn't just reporting numbers; it's about listening, understanding, and helping navigate pathways that support both the practice and the people behind it. These are difficult decisions that affect more than just the bottom line.

When Personal Life and professional life intersect

I've also supported clients navigating separation and divorce, family tragedies, and personal transitions while still showing up every day for their patients. No training module prepares you for helping someone through both immense personal and business strain simultaneously. It requires accuracy and objectivity, yes, but also empathy and steadiness.

Numbers are only one part of the picture; life continues behind the scenes, and sometimes that's where the real work lies.

When Partnerships Shift

Business partnerships are typically founded on trust and a shared vision, but like any relationship, they can become challenging.

When partners no longer align, it's rarely just about finances, values, communication, burnout, or differing approaches to business ownership and patient care. Sometimes, life moves people in different directions.

In those moments, I often walk a tightrope, aiming to keep the business steady while remaining objective and fair, being sensitive to the personal layers underneath, and guiding decisions without taking sides.

Sometimes the outcome is renewed clarity and alignment. Sometimes, a respectful exit. Either way, the goal is to achieve dignity, stability, and preserve the practice and the people within it.

Calling in my Emotional Intelligence

I often wonder if I genuinely have the skill to navigate all of this. Then I reflect on my own journey building a business, navigating stress, and being a young single parent (before I met my incredibly supportive husband Stephen), and developing resilience the hard way.

I understand responsibility, pressure, and uncertainty not as abstract concepts, but as lived experience. That perspective enables me to show up with empathy and calm, even when challenges feel overwhelming and decisions are complex.

This Is the Work

Accounting in the medical world is not just compliance and spreadsheets. It's listening. It's about translating complexity into confidence, supporting people through defining personal and professional moments, and holding space when emotion and leadership collide, because they often do.

Doctors spend their days caring for others. I see my work as helping care for them and the practices they work so hard to build. Numbers matter. But people matter more.

To Practice Owners

If you're building or running a practice and it sometimes feels overwhelming, that doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. It means you care. It means you're committed and human.

You don't need to navigate the financial and leadership realities of practice ownership alone. GrowthMD supports medical practice owners through every stage with clarity, structure, honest conversations, and genuine partnership. Thank you to all our clients for placing their trust in us.