November 19, 2015

Six Ways to Build Your Practice – Part Two

In our previous post, we looked at several considerations to take into account when opening and building a practice.  Below are some additional thoughts on some of the challenges facing start-up practices.

4. Get Stocked.

You will obviously need to purchase all of the equipment and supplies required to furnish your office and run your practice.  Although you should obviously take some time to seek out the best price for the supplies you need, you may also want to work with a company like Henry Schein or Patterson, especially at first, both because it provides a one-stop shop that can save you time and because they can provide expertise and guidance on what supplies you need to get started and to ensure that your inventories are appropriate for your patient volume.

Also, be sure to factor in the costs of support services like computer hardware, IT support, and software licenses for the programs you will use in your business.  Such costs can be significant, and are often overlooked by physicians and dentists when first estimating the costs of starting a new practice.

5. Get Staffed.

It is absolutely essential that you hire capable employees that you can trust, particularly if you are running a small practice.  Ideally, you will also want to hire employees who already have substantial experience, so that you will not have to devote substantial time and resources to training new employees.  However, there is often a trade-off between cost and experience, and good, experienced workers are often in short supply.  Therefore, if you cannot find the ideal candidate, consider hiring someone with less experience, but who shows potential.

Also, drama among staff members can kill productivity, lower morale and create potential liability exposure both from patients and staff.  Look for potential red flags on a resume and during an interview, such as frequent job hopping or criticism of prior employers.  Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to schedule a working interview to see how the candidate performs with your patients and with the other staff members.

6. Get Patients.

You can acquire patients in a number of ways.  Probably the best way to market your practice is by establishing an online presence, so make sure to get a website up and running as soon as possible to draw in new patients.  Search engine optimization (SEO) consultants may also be able to help you increase your internet visibility.  Signage and location also play an important part, as noted in our previous post, so work with your landlord to increase the practice’s drive-by visibility.  If your marketing budget allows for it, direct mail campaigns, although perhaps less effective, can be another vector for bringing patients in to your practice.

If you have been an associate at another practice, you probably have a non-compete or non-solicitation provision that may bar you from recruiting patients and staff.  However, if you do not, that could be a potential source of patients.   If you are a specialist, and your practice will be primarily referral-based, you should also network with other doctors to establish a patient stream.

These are just a few general topics to consider when building a practice from scratch.  If you run into any specific problems or questions as you build your practice, you should contact experienced professionals to address legal, accounting or other issues immediately so that you can minimize risk and increase your profitability.