Deciding to branch out on your own is a big decision for a healthcare provider.
Many started on their journey of healthcare with the dream of owning their very own private practice. Some were lucky enough to join a family practice, such as partnering up with a parent who has a long-established practice, while others are the first in their family to venture into medicine. Whichever way your journey began, you’re at a pivotal point in your journey and it’s time.
It’s time to go forth to meet your destiny and establish your own practice.
If this is you, congratulations!
It takes a lot of courage to take a leap of faith and move boldly into your calling as a physician who owns his/her own medical practice! Now that you have come to this moment in time, you are probably at the strategic planning phase and you’ve been searching and educating yourself on the basics of owning a medical practice. The task can be an enormous amount of work, as you start with foundation planning, such as where to start your medical practice, where to get financing, how to build out the space, whether to purchase an existing medical practice, establishing your medical corporation and registering things like your group NPI and your FNP with the medical board.
Once you have signed your lease and hopefully have a year of working capital in the business account, you may start to look for help. Who do you hire? You are the HR department and you are the administrator, until you hire or fill these two spots. This is one of the most important parts to starting a practice.
Hire the best!
Don’t try to cut corners; hiring lower wage employees who don’t have the experience will back fire on you and potentially cause more harm that good. I personally think hiring those who know more than you in the area of practice management is the best move!
And yes, there’s more to starting your medical practice, such as HIPAA compliant computers, an EHR (Electronic Health Records) systems, phones systems, and much more. Processes and compliance will all be part of the systems you must implement in your new medical practice.
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
How you will accept new patients, such as cash or insurance; perhaps, you want to have a concierge practice? These are all thing you should know before you start your medical practice. If you decide you’re accepting insurance, you will need to handle all of your provider enrollments prior to seeing your first patient. You want to begin that process a minimum of six months before you start seeing patients.
Marketing is another aspect you must address. Digital marketing is today’s version of newspaper ads and mailers. Get social online and create a buzz about your practice. Check out our helpful tips on digital marketing.
Lastly, begin with a healthy and ethical business model, know your state and local laws, as well as Medicare regulations. For legal advice, hire an actual HealthCare attorney, not just a business attorney.