As a medical professional, one of the most rewarding things you can do is open a private practice. It gives you the freedom to give patients the type of care you feel they deserve, you get to work with people who get your vision, and be the boss. However, to make your medical office successful, it’s going to take more than your expertise as a medical practitioner.
When you run a practice, you’re responsible for the facilities and equipment, hiring the right staff, marketing your practice, and satisfying your clients. That’s a heavy load, and you’ll be the main driving force behind all of it. Continue reading to get some tips that will help you get your private practice up and running.
Get Yourself a Mentor
Why learn from your own mistakes when you can learn from someone else’s? The benefit of having a mentor is that you get access to a wealth of wisdom that you didn’t have to pay the price for.
One of the first things you should do before opening your own practice is to become the mentee of another private practice owner who you admire. Your mentor can help you to avoid certain pitfalls and be there to guide you through difficult times. No matter what you do in life, your journey is always easier when you have the help of someone who’s been there and done that.
Find Office Space
One of the most crucial decisions you’ll have to make early is where to put your office. Finding a medical office space for rent can be like trying to find gold at times.
The best place to search is online. There are medical office buildings throughout most metropolitan areas in the U.S. If you search diligently, you’ll be able to find one within your budget.
When picking a location, you need to consider factors like occupancy costs, easy access for your patients with mobility problems, and parking. Not every medical office building is created equally. You need to make your clients’ comfortability a priority when choosing a location.
Register and License Your Practice
Just like with any other business, you have to register your business with your state and get your license to operate. Registering your business simply declares the existence of it. Licensing your business determines your tax liability as well as the financial liability of yourself and your partners.
You also need to get your national prover identifier as well. It’s required of all healthcare providers and is how public and private healthcare insurance providers keep track of practices.
Spread the Word About Your Practice
You can’t expect people to just start flooding the doors of your medical practice the moment you open up for business. Getting clients to come to your office requires a robust marketing campaign built around goal setting and results.
Social media is the most powerful tool that small business owners have at their disposal as far as marketing is concerned. To maximize your marketing potential, you have to be intentional about your online presence and consistent in providing fresh content.
You should build a Linkedin profile for yourself and one for your office as well. Write engaging content about your field of expertise on a consistent basis, and people will take notice.
Set Goals for Your Practice
Before you’re ready to open your business, you need to have realistic objectives in mind. You also need a way to track your key results to measure your progress. Objectives and key results (OKR) tools that help you to track the productivity and growth of your office.
With the use of OKR software like Workboard, you can monitor the productivity of your team members as well as the performance of your marketing campaigns. Every piece of data you have can be utilized to make your company better.
Don’t Try to Do It Alone
You will not be able to run a successful practice by yourself. Of course, you know you’ll need nurses and office personnel, but make sure you hire people you don’t have to micromanage.
You need an office manager to handle daily operations such as making and keeping track of appointments and making your schedule. You’ll need an accountant to help you manage your overhead costs and keep track of your revenue and tax information. In other words, you need people you can trust to handle the things that you won’t have the time to.
