Start It Up: Planning — How to Launch a Practice
Worried that hanging out a shingle might be suicidal in today’s business climate? Not so! Here are the first steps to starting a successful practice.
By Laurie Hyland Robertson About This Series Have you been pondering striking out on your own, making the leap from employed associate to practice owner? Or are you just starting out in practice and wondering if it’s worth going even deeper into debt to start your own venture rather than getting “a job”?
Whatever your situation, Physicians Practice is here to help. Welcome to the first installment in our comprehensive six-part guide to starting a medical practice. In addition to the pre-opening day planning advice you may have seen in other such guides, we’ll delve deeper into the key milestones you’ll need to meet for success long after you cut the ribbon.
Despite dire predictions trumpeting the imminent demise of the U.S. healthcare system, you could still do a lot worse than to go into private medical practice. In fact, we’ve spoken with plenty of physicians who’ve recently made the leap and couldn’t be happier.
Take Beth Santmyire-Rosenberger, MD, PhD, who opened her Fairmont, W.V., dermatology practice two years ago. Now, she says she’s financially stable and, more importantly, has “a genuine feeling of enjoyment and accomplishment at the end of the day.”
“As long as you do your homework and take all of the steps correctly, it’s really hard to fail,” says consultant Keith Borglum, who’s advised hundreds of nascent practices. “The reason people fail is they’re either oblivious to some step and they make a mistake, or they don’t do proper planning.” Continued...
