How to Start a Private Practice: A Guide for Physicians

Are you planning to open your own medical practice?

As a physician, one of your biggest goals is to go into private practice and become your own boss. You’ll also be in a better position to increase your income while making a big difference in the lives of patients and their families.

What does it take to start your own medical practice, though? Considering that only about a third of physicians in the United States have their own independent practices, it’s fair to conclude that going into private practice isn’t for everyone.

In this article, we’re telling you how to start a private practice that will succeed.

Read on!

Decide on the Type of Practice You Will Open

There are different types of medical practices:

• Solo practice
• Group practice
• Hospital owned
• Federally-qualified health center
• Academic health center.

Solo and group practices are the most common in the country. As the name implies, a solo practice is run by one physician. You own it fully and are solely responsible for its operations.

A group practice is like a solo practice, only that it’s owned by two or more practitioners. When you join hands with another doctor, you will create a group practice.

Hospital-owned practices are partly owned by a hospital network. You’ll get to have a share of ownership, but the network will get the rest because you’ll use its capital and marketing resources to establish the practice.

An academic health center is more like a hospital-owned practice. You’ll share ownership with the academic institution, usually a medical school, but you’ll tap into its vast capital and marketing resources to get started.

So, which type of medical practice do you want to start? There are pros and cons to each practice, but if you want complete autonomy, you’re better off going solo.

Create a Busines Plan

At the heart of it, a medical office is a business. And like any business, it needs to turn out a profit or it will collapse.

If you want to run a profitable business, the first step is to draw a business plan. This is the document that fleshes out crucial details about the practice, including the name, physical address, ownership structure, health care services offered, sales and marketing strategy, capital requirements, and financial projections.

Now, you probably don’t have what it takes to craft a business plan that can lead a business to success. After all, you’re a doctor. You’re trained to diagnose and treat illnesses, not write business plans.

This is why it’s super important to consult with a professional who specializes in medical practices. This consultant will advise you on the state of the market, the various permits and licenses you’ll need, and help you write a detailed business plan.

Raise the Required Capital

How much money do you need to start a medical practice? There’s no standard figure, as costs vary depending on many factors, including the size of the practice, area of specialty, and location.

But this is why you draw a business plan. If you had a professional draw it, you’ll have a fairly accurate estimate of the capital you need to get started, as well as the monthly expenses it’ll be incurring until it achieves sustainable profitability. On average, though, you need anywhere from $70,000 to over $100,000 in startup capital.

Do you have this money?

Some physicians raise this money from their own savings but don’t fret if you’re unable to raise the entire amount on your own. There are funding options you can explore, including borrowing from friends and family, getting a personal or business loan, and seeking grants.

You can also consider the possibility of starting a group practice as a way to raise startup capital. If you join hands with one or two other physicians, you can jointly raise the capital, which is much easier than doing it on your own.

Preparing Your Practice for Operations

Now that you have the money, the hard work of preparing your practice for launch begins.

You need to find a suitable space and turn it into your dream medical office. There are companies that specialize in designing and building medical offices, so it’s advisable to find one and let them do the job.

As you build out the space, you should be thinking about making an order for all the medical supplies the practice needs. There are several medical supplies companies, including KMS Medical Surgical Supply, that you can reach out to and get the necessary supplies.

Staffing is an important aspect of running a medical practice. You’ve certainly already identified the personnel you need to get started, including administrators, billing and coding specialists, nurses, medical assistants, and doctors.

You can do the hiring on your own, but because there’s so much at stake, it’s recommended that you outsource the task to a medical practice staffing agency.

There are several other pre-launch aspects you need to take care of, including insurance, so be sure to cover all those bases.

Launching and Marketing Your Practice

Of course, you want to start working as soon as the practice is ready to start receiving patients. However, this isn’t what you should do. It’s important that you start out with a bang.

Although there are lots of regulations surrounding medical marketing, you want to hype up your practice before launch. Let the community know that there’s a new practice offering certain healthcare services.

After launch, you can find a medical marketing agency to help your practice achieve its marketing goals.

That’s How to Start a Private Practice Successfully!

Your dream is to run a successful medical practice. This is easier said than done, but there are thousands of physicians who have done it. You can, too.

Follow this guide on how to start a private practice to the latter and you’ll give yourself a good chance of starting a medical office that will be profitable.

All the best and keep tabs on our blog for more helpful business advice.