6 Essential Things You Need to Start a Private Medical Practice
Many doctors dream of one day owning their own practice. You may have cut your teeth working in a hospital or a small clinic, but now you’re ready to strike out on your own. It’s a great goal to have, but you need to be prepared if you want to flourish.
To help you get started, read about the following six essentials you’ll need to launch a successful private practice. Use what you learn here to create a plan that will let you start making great money while you help people live longer, healthier lives.
1. A Space to Set Up Your Practice
First and foremost, you’re going to need a physical location where you can run your practice. This may seem simple, but you’d be surprised how complicated it can get.
Some considerations you’re going to have to take into account when you select your space include:
- How much space you’ll need
- Whether you want a pre-existing building or to build from scratch
- Whether to renovate or work around the current floorplan
- How much rent is per month or how much construction will cost
- What specific communities you want to serve
2. An Area of Focus
There are plenty of good general health doctors in the world, and if you want to practice general medicine, that’s perfectly fine. However, the caregivers who usually make the most money specialize in a certain discipline.
If you want to become a specialist, you’re going to need to be certified by the presiding board of your chosen field, be it radiology, dermatology, etc. That might require you to get some additional education or a few more years of experience, so you need to determine if you want to specialize before you open a private practice.
3. Adequate Insurance Coverage
When you work in a hospital, most of your insurance needs are taken care of at the corporate level. When you strike out on your own, it’s up to you to ensure that your practice has the appropriate level of coverage. Common coverages you’ll need might include:
- Property Insurance
- Renter’s Insurance
- Business Interruption Insurance
- Liability Insurance
That last bullet is huge for doctors who want to open their own practice. Some states won’t even grant you credentials to accept health insurance from patients if you don’t have some form of liability or malpractice insurance.
Additionally, you can’t forget to cover yourself as a working professional. You’re going to end up investing at least a portion of your personal assets in your practice. If you were ever to become too injured or ill to work, you’ll find your personal funds draining fast without solid coverage to rely on.
4. A Solid Marketing Plan
You may be the best doctor on Earth, but if no one knows you’re practicing, they’re not going to come to you. Before you open your own practice, you need to determine how you’re going to market your business. There are three main considerations you need to address in your marketing plan:
Your Target Market
Even as a doctor, your ideal patient is not going to be “anyone who needs care.” You’re going to have specific patients who use your services, at least starting off. These might be patients who have specific medical conditions or live in a certain area. You might also target patients at certain income levels. Whoever they are, you need to know your target patient base and what matters most to them.
Brand Value
What is it that’s going to set your practice apart from others? Better care? A more experienced support staff? Cheaper rates? More accepted insurance plans? Whatever it is, figure out how you’re going to communicate that to your prospective patients.
Your Website and SEO Efforts
If you’re disregarding the power of online searches to bring patients to you, you’re setting yourself up for failure. As reported by NBC News, a Pew Center study found that 80% of the 93 million Americans who use the Internet research doctors and health topics online. Often, though, they don’t find what they’re looking for. Your website has the potential to be a powerful tool for patients, provided you invest in its design and use SEO to increase your rankings in search engines so they can find you.
5. A Strong Support Staff
When you work in a hospital, there’s already a qualified team assembled to support your efforts as a doctor. When you start your own practice, you have to build your team from scratch. With that being the case, you’re going to have to set the following criteria when you hire your nurses, practice manager, and any additional doctors:
- What you are willing to pay in wages, salaries, and benefits
- What kind of personalities you want to have
- How much vacation time and sick leave you’re willing to offer
- What qualifications and how many years of experience you want
- How large you want your team to be
6. The Funds to Open
Once you’ve got everything else in place, you’re going to have to get the funds you need to open your practice. This is not a cheap investment. Business News Daily reported that it costs around $100,000 in startup fees and equipment, plus another $100,000 to cover payroll and operating costs, to open a new practice.
Before you decide to strike out on your own, you’ll need to construct a solid business plan, and build a solid credit rating, to convince a business lender to work with you. Make sure you can confidently discuss your business goals, where your money will be spent, how you’ll turn a profit and when, and what your plan is to repay the money you borrow.
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