“I have heard doctors say to me over and over again that they regret trying to do everything themselves when they were starting out,” says Hanya.

“The bottom line is that whenever they take time away from the office, there is no patient revenue being generated and by not engaging business professionals this often means doctors spend more time away from their patients and their families.

“It’s important to weigh this up at the beginning. What is the hourly cost of your time as a senior medical practitioner versus say paying a business consultant a set monthly fee to manage many practical aspects of the business? Or a billings expert $80-$120 an hour to help you reconcile your medical software against your bank accounts?

Or a digital marketing manager experienced in SEO to create compelling Google Adword campaigns for $1,000 per month. This may ultimately help you recoup thousands in lost income and well be worth the effort.”

She says it’s also important to factor where you are on your career timeline.

“A new doctor starting out should be wary of buying top-of-the-line leather chairs and cutting edge scanners immediately. It pays for doctors and practice managers to be prudent with the purse strings in the beginning.”

“Physicians should look at where their practice ranks compared to others of their size – whether they’re a solo practice or looking to expand to a multi-practice organisation,” says Hanya.

“A business consultant will be able to benchmark your practice against the “average” practice and help you figure out where the practice is lagging.”

“One common mistake I see in new practices is that after a couple of years as the doctor starts to get busier, they do not consider adding extra staff to increase patient capacity soon enough. While this adds to costs yes, it often pays off as a tactic.”

She says a good example may be utilising a nurse practitioner help with the more chronic needs of patients with diabetes.
“Or maybe finding another part-time receptionist or practice manager to get the patient “mix” right so the doctor is not seeing too many patients with chronic conditions in a row creating a backlog.
Or conversely the reverse situation also needs to be managed, when patients with simple problems are in and out in a few minutes, creating gaps.”

“One of the benefits of using professional consultants for sourcing finance, is that many doctors are not highly experienced in negotiating loan rates. Younger doctors may also be perceived as high risk candidates by lenders due to education loans before starting up practice. And doctors busy with patients may also not have had time to thoroughly investigate the best interest rates on the market – which fluctuate virtually weekly,” says Hanya.

“Medical business consultants have deep industry experience with loans; are seasoned negotiators and can often secure more competitive interest rates as a group. They also assist with financial compliance documents, grant acquisitions and insurance reviews which we find almost as a matter of course that doctors are either significantly overpaying or significantly underpaying which can put their practice at risk.”

To do list – New doctors

– Develop a strategic business plan 1, 2 & 5 years
– Provide lenders with an initial Profit and Loss and Cash Flow report
– Establish your corporate structure (with lawyer and accountant)
– Complete Accreditation and Compliance Registrations
– Obtain demographic data about your niche specialty, source rooms location
– Construct, rent or fit-out your rooms
– Negotiate contracts such as rent, IT, security, phone, website, IT, marketing needs
– Source and instal clinical equipment and establish supplier agreements (eg sharps, bandages etc)
– Ensure branding and signage is designed and complete
– Ensure position descriptions are accurate
– Recruit your staff
– Take time to find the right practice and billing software
– Make sure HR paperwork is finalised and signed
– Review your insurances
– Induct team members and establish procedures including probate, performance, staff KPIs, reviews
– Ensure subscriptions are in place for clinical software and accounts
– Keep you finger on the pulse or marketing – especially what the competition is doing locally and in other areas.
– Get a credit card processor and ensure Medicare patient rebate systems in place
– Establish a web presence, with SEO (Seach Engine Optimisation) and keywords factored in.
The most beautifully designed website in the world has no relevance if no one can find you.
– Set up social media platforms – eg Linked In, Twitter, Facebook
– Make sure you have an online appointments booking system

Ongoing