Running your own medical practice can be a lucrative and exciting venture but it does come with a number of costs. If you can identify those costs and plan for them early on, you’ll have a better chance of setting yourself up for success. The cost of setting up a GP practice includes a number of obvious expenses like staff and premises, as well as some less obvious ones.
Here are a few of the main costs you’ll need to think about.
Staffing costs
Staffing is a significant cost of setting up a GP practice but good employees are the mainstay of your business so it’s important that you take your time and hire people whose values are aligned with yours. When budgeting for your staffing costs don’t forget to factor in recruitment and training costs as well as their wages.
IT costs
From infrastructure to software, your IT costs will be a significant factor in your initial start-up and ongoing running costs. Make sure you choose quality clinical software as this will be the foundation of your business processes. If you’re looking to save costs, you may want to consider a cloud-based software platform. This will eliminate the need for a server and also means you can reduce your infrastructure costs as well as scale up and down more easily in the future.
Insurance
Insurance will need to be high up on your shopping list when you’re starting a new practice. From building and contents insurance to medical indemnity insurance you’ll want to make sure your new venture is protected from day one. If you haven’t already, it’s a good idea to get professional advice when deciding what insurance you need for your practice.
Marketing
Make sure you think about how you’re going to let your patients know about your new GP practice. If nobody knows about it, you’re going to struggle to be successful no matter how much planning you do. Marketing often comes at a cost and you may need to pay for advertising, marketing materials and a website when you’re getting started. Don’t forget to factor in costs like signage and a logo as well as any market research you need to do to find out what services are most in-demand in your area.
Medical equipment
Depending on your type of medical practice, you’re going to need some specialised medical equipment. This can be a large initial outlay and in some cases, you may want to consider renting rather than buying to reduce your start-up overheads. Your medical equipment requirements will vary depending on what services you’re planning to offer and whether you’re a generalist healthcare practice or more specialist.
There’s no standardised list of costs for setting up a GP practice – the requirements vary between different practices. Factors like location, type of medical practice and the size of the practice all make a difference to how much the cost will be. It’s well worth taking the time to plan your new venture carefully – the more you can plan, the sooner you’ll be able to open your doors and start generating revenue.
