Our History

• Nationwide provision of consulting services to specialists, GPs and hospitals.
• 19 years of national research and development into the healthcare system started in USA. 

• David Dahm, in his debut article in the Medical Observer, expresses his ethical concerns about the corporatisation of healthcare. He accurately predicts the arrival of corporate care in 2000 and the advent of super clinics and networks.
  Download Managed Care by Stealth

• This is the oldest database maintained in Australia
• Clean data was used so practices could compare apples with apples on a consistent basis (i.e. no inappropriate spouse payments were neither included, nor high practice rental payments for non arms- length loans). Reporting of revenue and expense per patient and profit margins is accurate.
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• This report was developed to communicate an optimum medico-legal and tax structure that promotes succession planning and a value for your practice. The report highlights contemporary investment, tax and asset protection friendly arrangements.
• This comprehensive report covers a practice’s medico-legal tax structures, business models, financial benchmarks and operational processes. This information is gathered during a two-day practice visit by two consultants, after which a detailed report is prepared.
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• A database that automatically prepares tax invoices, BAS and income tax extract summaries for individual doctors where the practice charges a percentage of gross fees as a management fee.
• No accountant can guarantee your books are correct unless they use this software program. It has been exclusively developed for, and is available to, Health and Life clients only. It is a database program that automatically calculates a tax invoice, BAS, income tax extract summary and a tax invoice summary reconciled to the last cent for every provider. It ensures your practice BAS is a mirror image of each doctor’s BAS. This avoids pay disputes and gives a clear tax audit trail to prevent further audit enquiries. 
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• Developed the national practice management series covering topics such as
  • Strategic planning
  • Privacy laws
  • Budgeting
  • Managing staff
  • Ethical marketing, and
  • National healthcare reforms
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• David Dahm completes five years of service on the RACGP's SA practice management committee, with Dr Peter Heysen as chair. David has presented on practice management issues to doctors, practice managers and reception staff, including establishing the receptionist training course.
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• Since the introduction of the GST and the plethora of changes, the Best Practice News Alert was born to keep every practice in Australia up to date with significant, contemporary issues and practical tips on how to better manage and run your practice.
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• Having taken into account conflicting expert legal and accounting opinions across different state and federal laws and changing government health programs, we have developed the optimal business, medico-legal and tax structure. This ensures practices are asset protection, investment, tax and family friendly. 
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• Having taken into account conflicting expert legal and accounting opinions across different state and federal laws and changing government health programs, e.g. the Practice Incentive Program, we have developed a generic provider contract template that addresses tax minimisation, employer superannuation, payroll tax, unfair dismissal, industrial laws and potential malpractice claims against practices. These agreements are Australian Tax Office friendly as well. A key feature of our agreements that clients seek is an ability to provide an incentive for part-time workers to do more sessions, for example discounting service fees if they bill more than $15,000 per month or use higher dollar value Medicare item numbers such as chronic disease management. Retention clauses can also be embedded into these agreements.
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• As with the service agreement template, after many conflicting opinions we have developed a doctor and adviser friendly practice agreement template. The agreement is in plain English and is fair and equitable for all practice owners. It deals with the difficult issues of entry and exit arrangements, profit sharing, decision making and succession planning.
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• This annual report is like the service log book for your car. The better you keep it the more people will pay for it. Practices need to know not only how they are operating compared to other practices, but also how they are stacking up against their own goals in order to maximise the full potential of their resources. For example a practice with two doctors and five consulting rooms is operating sub-optimally if other income opportunities are not explored. The Annual the Good, the Bad and they Ugly report includes a decision-making snapshot report, with practice recommendations, investment gradings, and a brief valuation to highlight areas for improvement and indicate whether practices are on track or not. This effectively allows owners to delegate the management of the practice to support staff.
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• Developed the first sustainable Health and Lifestyle Community Precinct mode. We focussed on co-located integrated care that is not reliant on government funding, and including specialists, GPs, allied health practitioners, day surgery, hospital and primary care teaching, childcare services, banking and shopping facilities. This won national bipartisan political support at all levels of government.
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• This series was developed to deal with the continuing problem of medical shortages and succession planning. Sustainable practices are better owned and operated by providers who have skin in the game. This means they take a longer-term view and are more sustainable; there is less uncertainty if a practice is left with one owner. Succession planning is a process and not just an event, and people don’t like joining the Titanic. The series covers off how to achieve this goal, including good practice agreements and financial transparency to give potential owners confidence in joining the practice.
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• The federal Australian Medical Association approached Health and Life to discuss the ATO’s draft service entity ruling. Our deliberation led to the issue of an unprecedented ruling prescribing that healthcare practices can only use a percentage of gross fees as a basis for charging service fees to practitioners. This ruling underscores the correctness of our advice on optimal medico-legal and taxation structures, with emphasis on succession planning as the prime driver and defence against ATO tax audits.
  Download BRW Service Burden Article

• Practices (especially growing practices) need an effective way to monitor monthly how they are implementing their annual strategic objectives. Waiting for the annual accountant’s financial statements is often too late to make changes. We have produced the Monthly Dashboard report so practices can focus on key areas that need to be monitored , such as revenue, wages, major capital expenditure and cash flow. 
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• This was a $45m national program. David Dahm was appointed the national financial analyst and prepared a longitudinal report on improving patient access to General Practice and setting sustainable benchmarks.
  Download Longitudinal Access Study Report and find on Financial Consultant Report 

• One of our clients, the Geraldton Medical Group, made it into the BRW Fast 100 - the first medical practice in Australia to achieve this title. GMG grew from a four-doctor practice into a 17-doctor practice in over four years. No government funding was used, which makes the success even more notable. We have been acknowledged as being the key adviser in their success. The Prime Minister and Federal Health Minister planned a visit to the practice in 2009. 
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• The only accountant in public practice who does tax returns and is also a surveyor for general practice.

• David Dahm was the national member representing the Australian Association of Practice Managers. The program evaluated the business case and material for healthcare practices to improve community lifestyles through healthier eating habits and exercise. David reviewed the clinical business case of the program from the viewpoint of both patients and providers.

• Approached by Special Counsel (formerly Queen’s Counsel) on behalf of the Australian Federal Tax Office in relation to an expert opinion on the valuation of medical practices.

• Health and Life won the majority of practice sustainability seminar programs to be delivered to rural general practices throughout Victoria. The project was funded by Aus Industry under the Regional Sustainability funding project. We appreciate the Rural Workforce of Victoria's support.
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• Successfully argued against the federal anti -kick back law that, in setting rental market rates for diagnostic companies, was in breach of the Australian Constitution.
  Download Govt backdown on pathology law - Medical Observer

• Director on the national board of the Australian Association of Practice Managers;
• National Chair of Certified Practice Manager Program for the Australian Association of Practice Managers;
• SA Treasurer and Vice President of the SA Australian Association of Practice Managers.
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• Unprecedented Australian national industrial Laws were introduced on 1 January 2010. In immediate response we developed an award-compliant employment kit, with employment templates, job descriptions, restraints and occupational health and safety agreements for doctors, allied health, nurses, practice managers and administration staff.
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• Since 1997 Health and Life has been in the national press, including articles in:

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• The Australian
• The BRW
• The Australian Financial Review
• In the Black
• Readers Digest
• The Advertiser
• The Medical Observer
• Australian Doctor
• GP Business Essentials 

• Today David Dahm ,our CEO, is recognised as one of a few ’go to‘ advisers on the healthcare industry, an honorary title that was conferred by the Medical Observer which is circulated to 22,000 doctors each week. Read on.

• Despite the Global Financial Crisis, Health and Life continues to grow strongly as more people hear about clients who have become successful by following our proven advice.
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• The deregulation of pathology licences on 1 July 2010 resulted in a ‘gold-rush’ of pathology collection centres being established in general practice. To prevent practices from falling foul of the anti-kick back and local planning laws, we developed national leasing templates, customised for each state in Australia. For Health and Life clients only, we also introduced a lease tendering service to ensure legally and ethically competitive rates are paid for collection centres.
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• On 1st August 2010 we moved into our new head office in the heart of the Adelaide CBD.
• The offices are equipped with: 
  • The latest in VOIP phone technology;
  • SMART White Board and video broadcasting technology;
  • Remote desk top services;
  • Work activity hot-desking;
  • Open plan;
  • Ergonomic workstations; and
  • The capacity to quadruple its size to meet future demand and to enable flexible and comfortable working conditions.

• We offer accounting clients the opportunity to record live computer activity-related training sessions. This ensures they don’t pay twice for the same training and is useful if part time staff can’t attend training sessions or new staff take over key practice functions.
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• After 19 years working with over 1200 practices all over Australia, and touring overseas, we have produced The World's Best Practice 2011 Master Class Series seminar series. This is a culmination of practical ideas and experience, including incorporating 80 years of world research into what makes an excellent organisation. The seminar series focuses on tried and tested practical solutions to resolving recurring practice inefficiencies that impact on an owner’s bottom line and quality of life.
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• Health and Life were awarded the South Australian MYOB Small Business Award in 2011. The Telstra Award is a prestigious award that recognizes the achievements and enterprising spirit of Australia’s small to medium businesses. Read More
  Pictures http://bit.ly/rignvq and for a whole lot more see http://bit.ly/n7Plu0

• Health and Life was rewarded the South Australian Yellow Pages Sensis Social Responsibility Award for demonstrated leadership and contribution to people in the community. This Award kicks off our One Moment Foundation which focuses on health and financial literacy projects in the community. To begin with we are targeting adolescent kids and people in lower socio-economic backgrounds. The objective is to use successful role models from different walks of life who have come from the “school of hard knocks” that can act as a powerful catalyst in the minds of all people to become more aspirational to succeed despite the challenges that they may be facing. Read More
  Pictures http://bit.ly/rignvq and for a whole lot more see http://bit.ly/n7Plu0