Starting your own medical practice is both incredibly exciting and nerve-racking. There are so many uncertainties involved in creating a brand-new business, let alone one in the medical field, that it’s nice to have a bit of help ensuring everything is able to run smoothly. Here are a few tips for new medical practices to consider.
Preparing Your Practice
The very first step is to decide what your business model and entity type are before you open your doors. Your practice will likely be one of three types:
- Traditional –You collect patient co-pays and then bill insurance companies to reimburse your services.
- Concierge – Patients pay a flat membership fee for medical services instead of, or in addition to, billing their health insurance company.
- Direct Primary Care – Patients pay a lower flat membership fee, and insurance is never accepted.
Solo practices often prefer the direct primary care route because it’s much easier and less stressful than having to deal with insurance companies and ever-shifting healthcare regulations from the government, helping prevent burnout. However, the model you choose will depend on your preferences.
Organizing Your Operations
The best tip for new medical practices is to consider investing in medical insurance to protect their practice. This will ensure you’re protected should something happen and makes it much easier for your practice to recover from issues like malpractice.
Next, you should set up a fee schedule that outlines all the services you offer and the amount you’ll charge for each service. If you need help deciding what a reasonable fee is, research what other practices in your area are charging.
Software and Supplies
As you’re getting all the equipment and supplies you need, you should consider investing in certain pieces of software. Medical billing software helps keep everything in-house by allowing you to handle all the coding and fee collections on your own. Many advancements in technology serve to make our lives more convenient and efficient. Acquiring medical billing software helps solo or small practices remain independent and profitable since they don’t have to outsource certain processes.
