Starting Your Own Medical Practice

Starting your own practice takes ambition, courage, dedication, and perhaps most importantly, foresight and planning. While a physician that has recently completed residency training is equipped to care for patients, starting a medical practice presents many unique challenges. Some of the most daunting tasks—insurance and tax issues, contracting, and licensing—are financial or legal in nature. However, building a patient base, hiring staff, and even choosing the best office layout can present logistical hurdles that must also be cleared. Taking advantage of some of the resources that are available can take a lot of the headaches and guesswork out of the process.

Medical Economics magazine has an excellent seven-part series that outlines the steps to take in the 12 months prior to launching your own practice. Some of the many helpful tips in this free and comprehensive guide include how to research the demographics of a prospective practice location, advice on choosing the right fringe benefits plan for employees, and even naming suggestions. At the end of each series is a checklist to help keep track of what is otherwise an overwhelming lineup of responsibilities.

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) also offers a guide to starting a medical practice. On Your Own: Starting a Medical Practice from the Ground Up is a resource manual that combines general business information with suggestions that are specific to a medical practice.

Another place to glean advice regarding your medical practice is the business archives of the American Medical News, which contains articles on practice-management. Just browsing through the massive amount of articles will yield information that is relevant to you and your practice.

Successfully managing a business and simultaneously providing excellent patient care is a challenge. Be sure to utilize available resources so that you are informed and knowledgeable about how to best create, develop, and manage your practice.