Schedule for patient convenience

Physicians used to be advised to keep their office hours during the "civilized" part of the day-between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Things have changed, however. Now you must increasingly apply marketing principles in order to offer your patients the features that they (the buyers of your services) want. And this leads to maintaining hours that better suit the buyers. In marketing, these buyers have become known as the "nocturnal market," working by day and buying goods and services during traditionally closed hours.

This shifting market has caused many physicians to open their offices on one or more evenings per week. Larger groups have either created apparently separate "convenience centers" or simply stayed open all weekday evenings until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. While harder on physicians' personal lives, the changes have been more than necessary.