How Close is TOO Close for a Competing Practice?

We get this question often enough that a few "truths" might be worth sharing:

Many practice types do not suffer in any way from having a direct competitor right next door. First of all are those practices that depend 100% upon professional referrals. An example here is a pediatric nephrologist. Included in this are those practices that will tend to dominate a particular insurance type (i.e., the only practice to accept a particular insurance type.)

General Dentists, Ophthalmologists, and Primary Care Physicians (including internists, and pediatricians) tend to fall into a middle range. You don't want to find yourself in an area with too many of them. For each, there is a certain "range" of how many an area will support. For example, with general dentists, we found a ratio of one dentist per 1,400 patients to be about right. But with all of these professionals, having a clear "brand" or identity is vital. In short, potential patients must understand what makes one practice different (not necessarily better) than another. 

When it comes to more "retail" types of practices, they have to be far more careful that they have some "geographic integrity." These practices include optometrists, dermatologists, and plastic surgeons. That is why we place such emphasis upon traffic patterns, accessibility, and competition signage when we are looking at these locations. 

Of all practices in which local competition is a big deal, veterinarians are perhaps the most important. With the exception of specialists (i.e., exotics, equestrian, bovine, or avian), we think that having another practice with a mile may be more than can be handled under most circumstances. Of course, there are always exceptions.