If you’re a physician who works for a practice that you don’t own, you’re probably wondering if you should start your own medical practice— and you’re likely not the only physician wondering this. Many people across many fields of work wonder whether or not they should branch out on their own, be their own boss, and hopefully become a successful entrepreneur. If this is something you’ve been thinking about, here are four reasons to consider starting your own practice.
#1: More Freedom and Flexibility
Many medical practices are a part of a hospital system, which means that they’re subject to the practices, procedures, regulations, and rules of that hospital. When you start your own practice, you make the rules and all of the decisions as they relate to your practice. You can choose to try a new treatment for your patients if you believe it’s best, you’ll be able to purchase new equipment (as long as you have the funds) — you call all of the shots.
However, since all decisions fall into your hands this means that all responsibilities do too. This includes all financial aspects of owning a practice. You’ll have to come up with the financing it takes to start a business, as well as manage all of the ongoing expenses it takes to run a business.
#2: You Can Start Any Type of Practice You Want
If taking on all of the responsibility sounds like something you’re willing to do, you should start a solo practice. However, if it worries you consider starting a group practice. With this type of structure, you’ll share the responsibility, work burden, financial aspects, and many other things with other medical professionals. Just remember that you forfeit full control, so make sure to go into business with people you trust if you decide to open a group practice.
Other types of medical practices you can start include:
- Urgent care centers
- Travel clinics/Locum tenens
- Hospital-owned clinics
- Federally qualified health centers
- Academic health centers
The amount of freedom and flexibility you want (plus the amount of financing you’ll need) may influence your decision on which type of practice to start.
#3: Medical Practices are a Lucrative Business
Even though there are a lot of upfront costs when it comes to starting a medical practice (e.g., finding a commercial property, equipping your practice with medical equipment, etc.), you’re probably already aware of how much money you can make. Doctors and other healthcare professionals never have to worry about job security because this is a field that is always going to be needed, and isn’t easily replaced by technology. In fact, technological advancements can help you make more money by reaching more people, such as offering virtual appointments.
Just remember to obtain all of the insurance you’ll need to protect your business from a huge financial blow. Obviously, you’re going to need medical malpractice insurance, but you’re also going to need commercial property insurance in case your property becomes damaged, and workers’ compensation insurance in case your workers get injured on the job.
#4: You Can Choose Which Professionals You Want/Need to Hire
Running any type of business is a lot of work, but the good news is that you can hire whoever you need to help with certain tasks. Some examples of people you may need to hire include:
- Health services administrators
- Medical billers, records clerks, secretaries, and transcriptionists
- Office managers
And of course, you’ll need to hire your medical staff— which can vary depending on the type of practice you choose to open and your area of specialization. You can even hire specialists outside of your areas of expertise, which will allow you to charge extra for their services. A few examples include:
- Cardiologists
- Dermatologists
- Gynecologists
- Hematologists
- Oncologists
- Pathologists
- Urgent Care Physicians
- Urologists
You can also choose to outsource certain functions of your practice by hiring another company to take over those operations for you. Examples include accountants, HR managers, and even recruitment agencies that can help you find employees of all types to staff your practice.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to starting your own practice— especially if you decide to start a solo practice. All of the decisions from your clinic’s hours to the color of your furniture are completely up to you. You can even choose to go into business with a few of your physician friends and start a group practice to take the majority of the burdens of starting a business off your shoulders.
