The Ultimate Guide To Starting A Medical Practice

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When you ventured to university and embarked on the long road to becoming a qualified doctor, you may have always held the dream of one day starting your own medical practice. While you might be a diagnostic guru and you pride yourself on forging positive relationships with your patients, you still might not have a clue about how to start a practice. You need to put your medical mind to one side for a while, and try to clue yourself up on the world of business. You need money, acumen and a plan to set up your practice. You will have industry rivals and you will need to offer something a little bit different. Take a look at his guide to help you take your first steps towards starting a medical practice autonomy.

Funding

As with any other new business, you need an initial cash injection to set up your practice. Head to the bank and try to secure a professional loan. You will need to hone a detailed business plan, showing off how your medical practice will be profitable. You need to demonstrate how you are a responsible borrower, good with money and understand the obligations of taking out a loan. Your business plan should detail any risks to your business and how you will overcome them. You need to be aware of the challenges within the medical field such as the cost of equipment, medical records software and premises leasing. Perhaps you can limit some of these costs by sharing premises with another non-competing small business; this shows acumen and a willingness to compromise.

Resources

You need to ensure that your medical practice is fit for purpose and provides all of the services you are going to offer in a safe and effective way. If you are treating patients on-site, you must have a pharmacy freezer to store medicines, vaccines and samples in a hygienic and non-compromising way. If you are looking to offer alternative therapies such as acupuncture or hypnotherapy, you need separate rooms to accommodate this. Perishables and disposables such as gloves, masks and gowns also need to be factored into your startup costs.

Legalities

As a medical practice, you will be regulated. Your federal government and state will set out the licensing and legislation laws that you need to follow as a professional. With a license, you will have an added level of certification to inspire confidence in your patients. You will also need to obtain your national provider identifier number. Do this by applying on the National Plan and Provider Enumeration website. To prescribe medicine, you will also need a DEA number. Depending on the equipment you want to use, such as scanners and x-ray machines, you may need more paperwork to show that you are licensed to do so.

Being a medical professional launching their own practice means that there are many hoops to jump through before you can begin practising. This is expected as you are dealing with people’s health, well being and livelihoods. Follow this guide and you can turn your medical practice dreams into a reality.