10 Things to Consider When Starting Your Medical Business
Starting a medical business can be a complex endeavor. To help you navigate this process, we’ve gathered insights from medical directors, founders, and financial strategists. From understanding legal responsibilities and laws to evaluating your local labor force, here are 10 key considerations shared by these experts before launching a medical business.
- Understand Legal Responsibilities and Laws
- Gain Expertise and Stay Updated
- Establish Professional Networks and Partnerships
- Navigate Regulatory and Compliance Obligations
- Choose the Right Business Entity
- Explore Underserved Areas in Medicine
- Invest in Efficient Management Systems
- Consider International Expansion Challenges
- Assess Insurance and Risk Management Needs
- Evaluate Your Local Labor Force Supply
Understand Legal Responsibilities and Laws
Following the development of a viable business concept through brainstorming and analysis, the fundamentals of a business plan are then drafted. It might be daunting for a self-employed doctor or nurse to consider their legal responsibilities as a business owner and a healthcare provider. There may be legal requirements depending on the nature of the business plan.
Every company will dabble in legal issues, albeit the specifics depend on the nature of the firm (providing aesthetic injections vs. becoming a social media influencer, for example). Before beginning operations, awareness and adherence to all relevant laws and medical regulations is crucial. Taking a course related to the healthcare business planned to start is suggested before ever going to a lawyer.
Dr. Thanu Jey
Medical Director and Founder, MediBrace
Gain Expertise and Stay Updated
Before you start a medical business, it’s important to hone your craft and gain the necessary expertise, skills, and knowledge in your chosen field. It’s crucial to gain substantial experience and proficiency through extensive training, practice, and professional development.
This ensures that you can deliver exceptional care and effective treatments. Don’t forget, staying updated with the latest advancements in your field is essential for maintaining excellence and offering cutting-edge services.
Diane Howard
RN and Founder, Esthetic Finesse
Establish Professional Networks and Partnerships
Establishing a robust professional network and strategic partnerships is vital for success in the medical field. Connecting with healthcare professionals, specialists, and other stakeholders can create a strong support system and open doors to new opportunities.
Collaborating with colleagues in the industry can lead to referrals, enabling you to expand your patient base and increase revenue. Partnerships with specialists allow you to provide comprehensive patient care by leveraging their expertise. Networking also includes access to valuable resources, such as industry insights, best practices, and professional development opportunities.
By nurturing these connections, you can stay updated with the latest advancements in healthcare, build your reputation, and foster a collaborative environment that benefits your business and the patients you serve.
Sacha Ferrandi
Founder and Principal, Source Capital
Navigate Regulatory and Compliance Obligations
When embarking on a medical business venture, it is essential to carefully evaluate the regulatory and compliance obligations unique to the healthcare sector. It’s important to abide by local, state, and federal regulations to maintain legal and ethical operations. This includes understanding licensing and certification requirements, privacy laws, billing and coding regulations, and adherence to healthcare standards.
It can be valuable to conduct market research and evaluate the competitive landscape to gain insights into the demand for a medical business, the competition, and any potential challenges. By taking the time to understand and navigate the regulatory landscape, aspiring medical business owners can lay a solid foundation for their venture and ensure they are well-prepared to provide quality healthcare services while meeting all necessary legal and compliance obligations.
Peter Reagan
Financial Market Strategist, Birch Gold Group
Choose the Right Business Entity
When starting a medical business, one crucial consideration is choosing the right business entity. This decision impacts various aspects of your practice, including legal liability, taxes, and financial structure.
By selecting the appropriate entity type, such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or limited liability company (LLC), you can protect your personal assets, optimize tax advantages, and establish a solid foundation for your healthcare venture. Consulting with legal and financial experts is highly recommended to ensure compliance and make informed decisions in setting up your medical business.
Samuel Fletcher
Co-Founder, SupplyGem
Explore Underserved Areas in Medicine
Medicine is a field that is chronically short of various resources, and putting your business in that niche is the way to grow and profit quickly if you can make it work.
My recommendation is to look into some of the most underserved areas in medicine, namely, records administration or home healthcare options. Home healthcare, especially, is seeing a massive crunch of resources and a fairly good investment in new programs.
Kate Kandefer
CEO, SEOwind
Invest in Efficient Management Systems
Orderliness is very important for managing any organization. Thus, it would help to consider getting proper software systems when establishing your medical practice.
You can improve efficiency with practice-management tools, billing software, EHRs, etc. Therefore, you can expect better admin and management performance daily.
One good example is an EHR (Electronic Health Record) system. It documents all patient details, like their medical history, past diagnosis, past/ongoing treatments, etc.
Moreover, it is accessible through a centralized system. So, front-office staff members and doctors can see the records whenever needed. Also, they use these tools for insurance verification, scheduling, etc.
With these tools, you can expect seamless, secure, fast internal management. So, invest in them as a priority.
Lyle Solomon
Principal Attorney, Oak View Law Group
Consider International Expansion Challenges
Medical is a tough business when it comes to expanding outside of your home country’s market; you typically face entirely different regulations and often even different medical standards.
By deciding from the get-go whether you will be entertaining the notion of international expansion, you can do yourself a few favors and do some early research about your product/service, as well as how that matches up to the environment in some potential markets for expansion, rather than being fully invested in something and then finding that it has no legs outside your local market.
Onno Halsema
CEO, Contentoo
Assess Insurance and Risk Management Needs
When running a medical business, assessing the insurance requirements to protect against potential risks is crucial. Professional liability insurance is essential to safeguard against medical malpractice or negligence claims, providing coverage for legal expenses and damages.
Property insurance is equally important to protect your physical assets, including medical equipment and facilities, from events like fire, theft, or natural disasters. In today’s digital age, cybersecurity protection is vital to safeguard patient data and maintain compliance with privacy regulations. Alongside insurance, implementing risk-management strategies is key to mitigating liabilities.
This involves identifying potential risks, implementing preventive measures, and having proper protocols. By proactively assessing insurance needs and implementing risk-management strategies, medical businesses can protect their assets, reputation, and ensure the well-being of their patients and staff.
Bill Lyons
CEO, Griffin Funding
Evaluate Your Local Labor Force Supply
The vast majority of medical work is done in person. Even in some telemedicine contexts, regulation can force your employees to be in-state. This inevitably means that your business is subject to the supply of skilled professionals in the local labor force.
The level of skill can vary, but in medicine, it’s going to be higher than the average customer service or restaurant job. If your local market lacks the workers you need, you will find it very hard to scale your business.
Trevor Ewen
COO, QBench
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