Setting Up a Medical Practice

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At university, they teach doctors everything they need to know about caring and healing patients. What they don't teach medical practitioners however, is the business side of running a medical practice. In this article, I will give some quick advice about what you need to consider when setting up your own medical practice.

1. Finance and Location

The location of the medical practice will be a challenge to get right. You should look at areas where there is an abundance of patients and a lack of doctors to service them. Central business districts will always be busy but be careful that there isn't already an oversupply of medical practices. Once you have found the location, you will need to look at getting finance to setup the actual practice. You can try banks but unless you have significant resources behind you already you may find it difficult to get a loan from them. Thankfully, there are companies that lend money specifically to medical practices and you can often find them in medical journals.

2. Furniture and Equipment

Once you have a location and the finance in place, it is time to start investing in equipment, furniture and supplies. You will need to consider the fit out for the waiting room and practice room. For the waiting room, the list of furniture you will need to buy include waiting room chairs, tables, reception desk, paintings and other decorations, toys of waiting children and chairs for the receptionists. For you practice room, you will need a computer, desk, office guest chairs, a medical bed and storage shelves.

3. Hiring Staff

While you are having your practice outfitted it is a good idea to start placing advertisements for new staff. You will need a receptionist and an administration person. But don't just think about the people working in your practice day to day. You will also need an accountant, business advisor and mentor to assist you with the challenges of owning your own medical practice.

4. Insurance and Patients

You need to get your insurance arrangements setup. Malpractice insurance can vary greatly between companies and it is often a good idea to use an insurance broker who can advise you on the best coverage for you.

Getting patients is a matter of marketing and word of mouth. You should do some low level marketing such as leaflet drops and leave pamphlets at nearby nursing homes and day care centres. After awhile, patients will start coming to your through word of mouth - especially if you gain a reputation of as an excellent practitioner.