How to Start Your Own Medical Practice
If you are a qualified physician and feel it is time to be your own boss, perhaps you could think about setting up your own business? If you have adequate financial backing and the appropriate licenses, you can now consider how you will fulfill some other aspects of setting up your own medical practice.
Location
First, you will need a place to have your business. Look for a property in an area that has an abundance of people but little competition from other medical practices. If you specialize in a specific area of the medical profession, such as senior care, look for premises in a vicinity that has a high population of older people. Family-friendly towns or suburbs will make an ideal location for your premises if your preference leans towards pediatrics.
In order to gain the maximum footfall through your doors, locate your business in an area that is easily accessible to patients – one with useful transport links and plenty of parking facilities
Staff
Without staff, you will have no business, so make sure you build a good team.
Don’t just hire the first people to come along with the right qualifications. Take your time interviewing prospective employees, get to know them, and pinpoint whether or not they will integrate well as a team.
Create an image for your business by hiring the best people for the job. Ensure receptionists are bright, friendly people who will greet your customers with a smile, nurses are caring and nurturing, and doctors are conscientious with an excellent bedside manner.
To make your staff visible to patients and create an image for your business, dress the team in colorful scrubs such as athletic scrubs, which are ideal for busy staff who need to be comfortable and move freely.
The Premises
To make a doctors surgery attractive to patients, it needs to be clean and tidy. If you have a shabby, dirty building, patients will assume that you have no regard for safety and hygiene. Decorate with fresh paint in white or calming colors such as pale greens and blues – this will help anxious patients to relax. Don’t have the place looking too stark and clinical – you want it to feel friendly, comfortable, and inviting.
Ensure the property has enough rooms for all your requirements and plenty of storage space for stock and equipment so that the work area doesn’t look cluttered.
Equipment
When it comes to purchasing equipment for your practice, make a list of essential items, you need to get your business up and running. It is easy to get carried away and buy lots of fancy things that aren’t really needed and blow your budget.
Make sensible purchases and buy products of high quality. Doing so may cost more money, to begin with, but it should save you money in the long run as you will have to spend less money on maintenance and repairs. Even consider buying superior products second-hand if they are in good condition.
