An older medical practice or one that you’ve got your eye on with a view to taking it over will need some revitalization. It’s likely a bit tired with the facilities showing some wear and tear. Also, the medical equipment is probably years out of date with the medical practice owners possibly having one foot out the door for a while now. To create a revitalized medical practice that’s ready for the future, here are 4 steps to take.
Confirm What’s Realistic for the Practice
Get realistic about what is needed for the practice and the limits for what’s possible too. You’ll need to run the financials to assess the rent, expenses, labor, and other operating costs. Then, take an initial look at what funds are available to pay for medical equipment. There may not be sufficient funds available to get everything that’s desired, so some equipment may stay while others are the higher priority for replacement.
Assess What Equipment is Necessary
Fully assess which existing equipment is still usable and performs as required. Even if there are better versions available now, it’s still useful to do this in case funds won’t permit replacing everything. Be exact about the equipment that is no longer fit for purpose and a replacement must be found. Add up the cost of this equipment, and make a side note for other pieces that would ideally be replaced but might be done in a later year.
Strongly consider financing medical equipment to afford more of it. It will provide the practice with the ability to charge for correct diagnosis at a more sophisticated level and more injuries or maladies. In turn, this can increase the billables to cover the cost of the financing while growing the practice too.
Secure the Financial Backing to Complete the Purchases
Most banks won’t be amenable to lending to a new practice. If it’s one that’s being taken over but already has a steady flow of patients and provable financials, then it may be a slighting more viable option. Nevertheless, it will be a difficult road when trying to secure significant funding for a small practice. It can make banks worrisome due to uncertainty. This is because they’re not certain how many patients will be seen in the future or what revenues will be generated, especially if new equipment will handle different cases than in the past, as all they’ll have is estimates for that. Therefore, it may be necessary to seek alternative business funding from more understanding lenders that appreciate what is trying to be achieved.
Ensure Staff Have the Right Training
Along with new equipment, staff must be provided with adequate training to use it to its maximum effectiveness. Avoid the tendency to underfund training because then employees will be concerned about not knowing how to use the equipment properly. They could make mistakes or only learn the basics and not take full advantage of all scanning and treatment options available using the latest technologies in the practice.
Revitalizing a medical practice requires a steady hand, good planning, and sufficient funds to pull it off. Yet, the potential is great when it’s done right.
