gp practice business plan

Medical Practice Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Medical Practice Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Medical Practice business plan.

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Medical Practices.

Medical Practice Business Plan Example

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Medical Practice business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Fresno Medical is a new medical practice located in Fresno, California. Our goal is to provide affordable healthcare to individuals and families living in the area and surrounding communities. We offer general and preventative healthcare for all ages, including checkups, screening tests, and immunizations.

Our medical practitioners and supporting staff are well-trained and have a passion for improving the health and well-being of our clients. We serve our patients not just with our knowledge and skills but also with our hearts. We aim to help our patients experience the best healthcare possible while maintaining relationships that last a lifetime.

Service Offering

Fresno Medical practice will focus on providing primary care services to every family member, from infants to adults. Some of the general and primary care services we provide include:

• Immunizations: flu shots, COVID boosters, measles, mumps, polio, etc.
• Annual checkups
• Pediatrics: checkups, developmental screening, immunizations, etc.
• Health screenings: blood pressure, cholesterol, depression, diabetes, etc.
• General health counseling

Fresno Medical will work with local and national insurance companies to ensure that every patient can afford our services. If the patient’s insurance does not cover all of their medical costs, Fresno Medical will provide payment plan options so that they are not overwhelmed by their medical bills.

Customer Focus

Fresno Medical will primarily serve the community of Fresno, California. The community consists primarily of middle to lower income residents who need access to affordable medical care. Many of these residents are hesitant to go to hospitals or other medical facilities due to their costs. We will offer lower prices, flexible payment plans, and flexibility when working with insurance companies to accommodate this demographic.

Management Team

Fresno Medical is owned and operated by Jessica Wells, who has been working as a doctor at local hospitals for 15 years. Throughout her career, she has worked for hundreds of patients and families with all their general and preventative care needs. Though she has never run a medical practice herself, she has worked in the industry long enough to gain an in-depth knowledge of the business, including the operations side (e.g., running day-to-day operations) and the business management side (e.g., staffing, marketing, etc.).

Fresno Medical will also employ nurses, expert medical staff, and administrative assistants that are passionate about helping the local community.

Success Factors

Fresno Medical will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Location: Fresno Medical’s location is in a high-traffic area that is easily accessible to thousands of residents. It’s visible from the street with many people walking and driving to and from work on a daily basis.
• Patient-oriented service: Fresno Medical will have a staff that prioritizes the needs of the patients and educates them on the proper way to take care of themselves.
• Management: Jessica Wells has a genuine passion to help the community. Because of her previous experience and reputation in the medical community, she is fully equipped to open this practice.
• Relationships: Jessica Wells has developed strong connections with her patients and fellow staff throughout her career. Many patients have expressed interest in following Jessica to her new practice, and some former colleagues have shown interest in working for the clinic. Jessica also has relationships with medical equipment suppliers and insurance companies.

Financial Highlights

Fresno Medical is currently seeking $400,000 to launch. The capital will be used for funding capital expenditures, staffing, marketing expenses, and working capital.

The breakdown of the funding may be seen below:

• Clinic design/build: $100,000
• Medical supplies and equipment: $130,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $100,000
• Marketing and advertising: $50,000
• Working capital: $20,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Fresno Medical.

Company Overview

Who is fresno medical.

Fresno Medical is a medical practice located in Fresno, California. We offer general and preventative health care for all ages. We offer immunizations, pediatrics, health screenings, and more. Our medical practitioners and supporting staff are well-trained to improve the health and well-being of our patients.

Fresno Medical is run and owned by Jessica Wells, who has been a doctor in the local medical community for 15 years. She has helped hundreds of patients and families with their general healthcare needs throughout her career. She also has gained knowledge and experience in the operations and marketing aspects of the medical business, which will prove indispensable for this private practice.

Fresno Medical’s History

After years of working with patients in hospital settings, Jessica Wells decided to establish a private practice. She wanted to develop a closer relationship with her patients, which was difficult to achieve while working in a large hospital. With this goal in mind, Jessica incorporated Fresno Medical as an S-corporation on March 15th, 2023.

Since its incorporation, the medical practice has achieved the following milestones:

• Found a clinic space and signed a Letter of Intent to lease it
• Developed the company’s name, logo, and website
• Hired a contractor for the office build-out
• Determined equipment and fixture requirements
• Began recruiting key employees with previous healthcare experience
• Drafted marketing campaigns to promote the practice

Fresno Medical’s Services

Fresno Medical will focus on providing primary care services to every family member, from infants to adults. The costs will depend upon the materials used, the physician’s time, and the amount designated for each procedure. Some of the general and primary care services we provide include:

• Immunizations: flu shots, measles, mumps, polio, etc.

Fresno Medical will maintain privacy according to HIPAA regulations. All patients will be welcome, including those without insurance. However, we expect most patients to utilize their insurance plans to pay their costs. The medical practice will work with local and national insurance companies to ensure that every family can afford our services. After billing insurance, Fresno Medical will provide flexible payment plan options so that no patient is overwhelmed by their medical bills.

Industry Analysis

Healthcare is a human right that everyone deserves access to. The medical industry will always be a necessity as it is the industry keeping society alive and well. Therefore, the medical industry is expected to continue to grow as the population grows. This is especially true for private practices, as there is a rising demand for small, patient-focused clinics that provide top-tier medical services.

Furthermore, the demand for private physicians has been on the rise. Hospitals have been low on rooms and beds the past few years, and nurses and doctors have been overworked. This has led to an increased demand for more medical professionals and private practices that can help lessen the load of larger hospitals.

Moreover, the pandemic instilled the importance of quality healthcare and practices in the general population. We expect that people all around the world will now put in more effort towards taking care of their health and getting the care and screenings they need.

According to Facts & Factors, the global private medical market is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5% over the next five years. This is enormous growth that is rarely seen in other industries. Furthermore, there is a growing demand for more primary care physicians as the general population aims to prevent developing chronic and preventable diseases. According to Grand View Research, the primary care market will experience a CAGR of 3.2% over the next 10 years, which is also moderate growth.

With such a demand for more medical practices and a greater emphasis on general health, we believe that Fresno Medical is starting at the right time and will see great success.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Fresno Medical will serve the community residents of Fresno, California, and its surrounding areas. The community of Fresno, California has thousands of middle-class individuals and families seeking an affordable medical practice to take care of all their health concerns.

The demographics of Fresno, California are as follows:

Customer Segmentation

The company will primarily target the following customer segments:

• Middle-class individuals
• Hospital patients

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Fresno Medical will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

City Metro Hospital

Founded in 1968, City Metro Hospital is one of the most popular hospitals in the area. Thousands of residents get all their primary care and emergency care needs taken care of with City Metro. It provides almost every service you can think of and enlists the help of thousands of doctors, nurses, and other expert medical professionals.

Though City Metro Hospital will continue to thrive, it does not foster an environment designed for long-lasting relationships. Since the pandemic, the hospital has been overwhelmed with patients and a staff shortage. This has led to doctors seeing thousands of patients and a tremendous increase in wait times. Fresno Medical will offer a more intimate setting where patients and doctors can create a long-lasting relationship that spans decades.

Quality Doctors

Quality Doctors is a private medical practice that provides highly personalized medical care. Quality Doctors includes a team of dedicated healthcare professionals with dual residency in emergency medicine and internal medicine. The practice offers same-day/next-day appointments, telemedicine, office visits, and home visits. Services offered by Quality Doctors include primary care, urgent care, and virtual visits.

Like City Metro Hospital, Quality Doctors is a large care system that cares for thousands of patients. This means that patients also do not get a close relationship with their doctor, which many crave. Furthermore, Quality Doctors has put much of its money and services toward emergency care in recent years and reduced its primary care services. Patients who want a lasting relationship with a primary care doctor will feel more welcome with Fresno Medical.

Johnson Community Care

Established in 1949, Johnson Community Care is a private medical practice with multiple locations. Patients all around the state can receive care at any location near them. Each site provides primary care services, emergency care, pharmacy services, and lab testing. Instead of heading to multiple locations to get all of these services, patients can get all their healthcare needs taken care of in one building.

Though Johnson is a highly successful medical practice, its major downfall is that it only provides services to those with its unique insurance plan. Therefore, anyone who has insurance through another company or plans provided by their employer cannot receive care at Johnson without paying out-of-network prices. Fresno Medical will partner with many insurance companies and provide flexible payment plans to help as many patients as possible.

Competitive Advantage

Fresno Medical enjoys several advantages over its competitors. These advantages include:

• Relationships: Jessica Wells has developed strong connections with her patients and fellow staff during her career. Many patients have expressed interest in following Jessica to her new practice, and some former colleagues have shown interest in working for the clinic. Jessica also has relationships with medical equipment suppliers and insurance companies.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

The Fresno Medical brand will focus on the company’s unique value proposition:

• Client-focused healthcare services, where the company’s interests are aligned with the customer
• Service built on long-term relationships
• Big-hospital expertise in a small-clinic environment
• Moderate pricing for all preventative and general health services

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Fresno Medical is as follows:

Fresno Medical understands that the best promotion comes from satisfied patients. The clinic will encourage its patients to refer their friends and family by providing healthcare benefits for every new client produced. This strategy will increase in effectiveness after the business has already been established.

Social Media

We will maintain a social media presence to attract local clients looking for a new doctor or medical practice. We will post information about our team, services, and general health tips for better wellness. To create a genuine connection with our patients, we will also use social media to engage with them and answer any questions they may have about our practice.

Fresno Medical will have an informative and attractive website featuring all its services and referrals from other satisfied patients. The website will be highly informative and be designed in a way that is friendly and eye-catching.  

Fresno Medical will invest in a high SEO presence so that the clinic is listed at the top of the Google or Bing search engine when a potential patient is researching private medical practices in Fresno, California.

Fresno Medical’s pricing will be significantly lower than big hospitals. We will partner with as many insurance companies as possible to ensure that our patients’ medical care is covered. For services not fully covered by insurance, we offer a flexible payment program so patients are not overwhelmed by their medical bills.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Fresno Medical.

Operation Functions:

• Jessica Wells will operate as the CEO of Fresno Medical. She will run all the general operations and executive functions of the company. She will also provide basic medical care for patients until she can hire a full medical staff.
• Jessica is joined by Mindy Keller, who will serve as the Marketing Manager and run all of the marketing and advertising efforts.
• Jessica is also joined by Rhonda Smith, who will work as the Receptionist of the clinic and the Administrative Assistant for the company.
• Jessica is also joined by Cindy Nguyen who will be the company’s Head Nurse. She will manage and train incoming nurses and provide medical treatment to patients.
• Jessica will continue to hire a team of medical staff to treat the medical practice’s growing patient list. The team will consist of doctors, nurses, physicians, and other necessary medical staff.

Milestones:

Fresno Medical expects to achieve the following milestones in the following six months:

• 4/202X Finalize lease agreement
• 5/202X Design and build out Fresno Medical
• 6/202X Hire and train initial staff
• 7/202X Kickoff of promotional campaign
• 8/202X Launch Fresno Medical
• 9/202X Reach break-even

Fresno Medical is owned and operated by Jessica Wells, who has been working as a doctor at local hospitals for 15 years. Throughout her career, she has worked with hundreds of patients and families and taken care of all their general and preventative care needs. Though she has never run a private medical practice herself, she has worked in the industry long enough to gain an in-depth knowledge of the business, including the operations side (e.g., running day-to-day operations) and the business management side (e.g., staffing, marketing, etc.).

The medical practice will also employ nurses, expert medical staff, and administrative assistants that are passionate about helping the local community.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenues for the medical practice will come from the fees it will charge the patients and their insurance for the health care services it provides.

The cost drivers for the company will include the payroll of the staff, lease on the office building, medical supplies and equipment, and marketing costs.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and to pay off the startup business loan.

• Year 4: 100
• Year 5: 125
• Annual lease costs: $40,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, medical practice business plan faqs, what is a medical practice business plan.

A medical practice business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your medical practice business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Medical Practice business plan using our Medical Practice Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Medical Practices?

There are a number of different kinds of medical practices , some examples include: Group medical practice, Private medical practice, and Hospital-based medical practice.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Medical Practice Business Plan?

Medical Practice businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

A well-crafted medical practice business plan is key to securing any type of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Medical Practice Business?

Starting a medical practice business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Medical Practice Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed medical practice business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the medical industry and potential target market size, information the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your medical practice business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your medical practice business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Medical Practice Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your medical practice business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your medical practice business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Medical Practice Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your medical practice business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your medical practice business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful medical practice business:

• How to Open a Medical Practice

Medical Practice Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Medical Practice Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their medical practices. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a medical practice business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Medical Practice Business Plan Template here >

What is a Medical Practice Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your medical office as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Medical Office

If you’re looking to start a medical practice, or grow your existing medical practice, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your medical practice in order to improve your chances of success. Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Medical Practices

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a medical office are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for medical practices.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a medical business.

If you want to start a medical private practice or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below we detail what should be included in each section of your business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of medical office you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a practice that you would like to grow, or are you operating practices in multiple markets?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the industry. Discuss the type of practice you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of medical office you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of medical practices:

• Group medical practice : this type of medical practice consists of two or more physicians providing medical care in the same facility. The physicians typically have different specialties, which allow them to collaborate and consult with each other.
• Private medical practice: this type of medical practice involves only one physician working along. A private practice usually serves a limited number of patients and operates with a small staff.
• Hospital-based medical practice: this type of medical practice is an ancillary medical office that is owned by a nearby hospital. The hospital will manage the practice and employ the doctors and nurses to work in their facilities and ancillary clinics.

In addition to explaining the type of medical practice you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What is your business model?
• What is your mission statement?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of patients served, number of positive reviews, reaching X amount of patients served, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your business structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the medical industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the medical industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating. 

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section:

• How big is the medical industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your medical office? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, families, seniors, and anyone needing a type of medical service.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of medical office you operate. Clearly, families would respond to different marketing promotions than seniors, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other medical offices. 

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes hospitals, clinics, teledocs, and online health forums.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other practices with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be other practices located very close to your business location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of medical services do they provide?
• What areas do they serve?
• What types of patients do they serve?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide services that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you provide faster patient waiting time?
• Will you provide better patient service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a medical office, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of practice that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific services you will be offering. For example, in addition to medical services, will you provide nutrition and diet guidelines, insurance claim processing, family and loved one communication, and any other services?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your practice. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your medical office located near a school, a busy neighborhood, an office complex, or an urban setting, etc.? Discuss how your location might be the ideal location for your patients.

Promotions : The final part of your marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Commercials
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising
• Word-of-mouth

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. It should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your practice, including patient and family communication and scheduling, managing appointments, inventory of medical supplies, accounting, billing, payroll, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to obtain your XXth patient, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your medical practice to a new location.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your practice’s ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company. 

Ideally you and/or your management team members have direct experience in managing medical practices. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a medical practice or a physician or nurse in the local medical field.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you take on one new patient at a time or multiple new patients offering a variety of medical services ? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your medical practice, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

: Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. 

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a medical practice:

• Cost of furniture and build-out
• Cost of medical supplies and equipment
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business and medical malpractice insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your list of medical services your practice will offer, types of patients you will be targeting, and the areas your practice will serve.  

Putting together a business plan for your medical practice is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful medical practice.  

Medical Practice Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my medical practice business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Medical Practice Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Medical Practice Business Plan.

Where Can I Download a Medical Clinic Business Plan PDF?

You can download our medical clinic business plan PDF here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of medical practice business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a medical practice business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of medical practice businesses?

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Medical Practice business plan?

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Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how Growthink’s business plan advisors can give you a winning business plan.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

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Medical Practice Business Plan

Considering starting a new medical clinic? Great. Medical practice is one of the most rewarding and profitable entrepreneurial ventures for any medical professional.

You can easily start a medical clinic, but you need a detailed business plan when it comes to staying competitive in the market, raising funds, applying for loans, and scaling it like a pro.

Need help writing a business plan for your medical practice business? You’re at the right place. Our medical practice business plan template will help you get started.

Free Business Plan Template

Download our Free Business Plan Template now and pave the way to success. Let’s turn your vision into an actionable strategy!

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How to Write a Medical Practice Business Plan?

Writing a medical practice business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is the first section planned to offer an overview of the entire business plan. However, it is written after the entire business plan is ready and summarizes each section of your plan.

Here are a few key components to include in your executive summary:

Introduce your business:

• This section may include the name of your medical clinic, its location when it was founded, the type of medical practice (E.g., solo practice, group practice, multi-specialty practice.), etc.

Market opportunity:

Mention your services:, medical services:, marketing & sales strategies:, financial highlights:, call to action:.

Ensure your executive summary is clear, concise, easy to understand, and jargon-free.

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2. Business Overview

The business overview section of your business plan offers detailed information about your clinic. The details you add will depend on how important they are to your business. Yet, business name, location, business history, and future goals are some of the foundational elements you must consider adding to this section:

Business description:

• Primary care practice
• Specialty practice
• Surgical practice
• Pediatrics practice
• Geriatrics practice, And more.
• Describe the legal structure of your medical practice, whether it is a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, or others.
• Explain where your business is located and why you selected the place.

Mission statement:

Business history:.

• Additionally, If you have received any awards or recognition for excellent work, describe them.

Future goals:

This section should provide a thorough understanding of your business, its history, and its future plans. Keep this section engaging, precise, and to the point.

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your business plan should offer a thorough understanding of the industry with the target market, competitors, and growth opportunities. You should include the following components in this section.

Target market:

• For instance, a primary healthcare clinic may target individuals and families seeking routine health check-ups.

Market size and growth potential:

Competitive analysis:, market trends:.

• For instance, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are transforming the medical industry; explain how you plan on implementing these technologies in your business operations.

Regulatory environment:

Here are a few tips for writing the market analysis section of your medical clinic business plan:

• Conduct market research, industry reports, and surveys to gather data.
• Provide specific and detailed information whenever possible.
• Illustrate your points with charts and graphs.
• Write your business plan keeping your target audience in mind.

4. Products And Services

The product and services section should describe the specific services and products that will be offered to customers. To write this section should include the following:

Medical treatment:

services: Mention the medical services your business will offer. This list may include services like,

• General medical care
• Specialty care
• Chronic disease management
• Wellness and preventive care
• Treatment and diagnosis of illness and injuries, And more.

Describe each service:

• For instance, the process of chronic disease management may include treatment planning, patient education, medication management, patient engagement, care coordination, regular monitoring, and follow-up appointments.

Insurance & payment options:

• In addition to these payment options, describe if your medical practice offers regular patients discounts or any membership plans.

Additional services:

In short, this section of your medical practice plan must be informative, precise, and client-focused. By providing a clear and compelling description of your offerings, you can help potential investors and readers understand the value of your business.

5. Sales And Marketing Strategies

Writing the sales and marketing strategies section means a list of strategies you will use to attract and retain your clients. Here are some key elements to include in your sales & marketing plan:

Unique selling proposition (USP):

• For example, advanced technology, specialized services, and emergency medical care could be some of the great USPs for a general medical clinic.

Pricing strategy:

Marketing strategies:, sales strategies:, patient retention:.

Overall, this section of your medical practice business plan should focus on customer acquisition and retention.

Have a specific, realistic, and data-driven approach while planning sales and marketing strategies for your medical clinic, and be prepared to adapt or make strategic changes in your strategies based on feedback and results.

6. Operations Plan

The operations plan section of your business plan should outline the processes and procedures involved in your business operations, such as staffing requirements and operational processes. Here are a few components to add to your operations plan:

Staffing & Training:

Operational process:, safety and infection control:.

• These protocols may include waste management, disinfection, sterilization, infection surveillance, etc.

Equipment & Technology:

• In addition, provide details on the sourcing and maintenance of these instruments and equipment. Explain how these technologies benefit your patients and help you stand out as a medical service provider.

Adding these components to your operations plan will help you lay out your business operations, which will eventually help you manage your business effectively.

7. Management Team

The management team section provides an overview of your medical practice’s management team. This section should provide a detailed description of each manager’s experience and qualifications, as well as their responsibilities and roles.

Founder/CEO:

Key managers:.

• It should include, Medical director, department/division heads, committees, and other doctors involved in the medical operations, including their education, specialization, professional background, and years of experience in the medical industry.

Organizational structure:

Compensation plan:, advisors/consultants:.

• So, if you have any advisors or consultants, include them with their names and brief information about roles and years of experience.

This section should describe the key personnel for your medical practice services, highlighting how you have the perfect team to succeed.

8. Financial Plan

Your financial plan section should provide a summary of your business’s financial projections for the first few years. Here are some key elements to include in your financial plan:

Profit & loss statement:

Cash flow statement:, balance sheet:, break-even point:.

• This exercise will help you understand how much revenue you need to generate to sustain or be profitable.

Financing needs:

Be realistic with your financial projections, and make sure you offer relevant information and evidence to support your estimates.

9. Appendix

The appendix section of your plan should include any additional information supporting your business plan’s main content, such as market research, legal documentation, financial statements, and other relevant information.

• Add a table of contents for the appendix section to help readers easily find specific information or sections.
• In addition to your financial statements, provide additional financial documents like tax returns, a list of assets within the business, credit history, and more.These statements must be the latest and offer financial projections for at least the first three or five years of business operations.
• Provide data derived from market research, including stats about the medical practice industry, user demographics, and industry trends.
• Include any legal documents such as permits, licenses, and contracts.
• Include any additional documentation related to your business plan, such as product brochures, marketing materials, operational procedures, etc.

Use clear headings and labels for each section of the appendix so that readers can easily find the necessary information.

Remember, the appendix section of your medical practice business plan should only include relevant and important information supporting your plan’s main content.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

This sample medical practice business plan will provide an idea for writing a successful medical practice plan, including all the essential components of your business.

After this, if you still need clarification about writing an investment-ready business plan to impress your audience, download our medical practice business plan pdf .

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Frequently asked questions, why do you need a medical practice business plan.

A business plan is an essential tool for anyone looking to start or run a successful medical practice. It helps to get clarity in your business, secures funding, and identifies potential challenges while starting and growing your business.

Overall, a well-written plan can help you make informed decisions, which can contribute to the long-term success of your medical practice.

How to get funding for your medical practice business?

There are several ways to get funding for your medical office, but self-funding is one of the most efficient and speedy funding options. Other options for funding are:

Small Business Administration (SBA) loan

Crowdfunding, angel investors.

Apart from all these options, there are small business grants available, check for the same in your location and you can apply for it.

Where to find business plan writers for your medical practice business?

There are many business plan writers available, but no one knows your business and ideas better than you, so we recommend you write your general practice business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind.

What is the easiest way to write your medical practice business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any medical practice business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Insights for those starting, managing, and growing independent healthcare practices

Get expert tips, guides, and valuable insights for your medical practice

July 26, 2023

10 min read

Practice Growth

Starting a Practice

Free template: How to create a business plan for your new practice

Your medical practice business plan is a living document that evolves as your practice grows. Here’s how to build it from scratch.

Most Popular

At a glance.

• A medical practice business plan is crucial for establishing direction, estimating finances, and evaluating competition.
• Creating an effective business plan involves gathering relevant data, making conservative financial projections, seeking expert input, and planning for risks.
• The 8 essential sections of a thorough medical practice business plan include the executive summary, business model details, market research, staffing model, 12-month budget, and more.

Medical schools and residencies prepare doctors to provide quality patient care but not to create a medical practice business plan. Yet a business plan is a key part of reaching new patients and supporting existing ones.

An effective medical practice business plan will:

• Establish a roadmap for your practice
• Estimate your revenue and expenses
• Evaluate the competition

Creating a thorough business plan may feel like an onerous roadblock to moving forward. However, plotting your direction in advance will keep you on track later on, and will set you up to effectively serve your patients.

Why you need a business plan for your medical practice

Whether you plan to start your own practice or take over someone else’s, a robust business plan is necessary. When you develop a comprehensive business plan full of intention, clear thought processes, and fine details, you demonstrate your commitment to your practice, community, and discipline.

A solid business plan effectively positions you to prevent surprises that could completely derail your practice and reputation.

“ A solid business plan effectively positions you to prevent surprises that could completely derail your practice and reputation.  ”

If you plan to seek investors or business partners for your practice, a thorough business plan demonstrates that you have both a vision and the empirical data and financial goals required to back it up. It also establishes and communicates the direction you intend to take your practice.

If you do not plan to seek outside investors, your medical practice business plan is still a key tool for the most important investor: you. Working through the 8 parts of a plan will help you evaluate the landscape, establish your foundation, and move forward with your practice.

That said, writing your business plan is not the same as establishing your budget. However, you will need to create a detailed budget so you can incorporate some of that information into your comprehensive business plan.

What is involved in developing a healthcare business plan?

As you develop your medical practice business plan, think of how you approach diagnosing a patient: a systematic process. While it may vary by practitioner, you typically:

• Get to know your patient
• Ask about symptoms and history
• Dig deeper into factors that are relevant to the current issue
• Collect data from tests
• Develop an initial diagnosis
• Seek additional counsel when appropriate
• Revisit the diagnosis if needed
• Discuss the findings and prognosis with your patient
• Schedule treatment and follow-up

The business plan creation process is similar.

Translating the process to your medical practice’s business plan

Getting to know your patient translates into defining your mission and vision. What do you want to accomplish? What is your role in your community?

Asking about symptoms and history will lead you to gather relevant documents, certifications, and professional memberships; research other local practitioners; and investigate why your practice’s focus is needed. Just as you need to know how the body’s systems fit together, you need to know how your practice will fit into the market.

Digging deeper into factors relevant to the current issue involves getting into the numbers. Evaluate:

• Your selected location
• Fee structure
• Insurance company partners, if any
• Target patient volume
• Staffing needs
• Services, whether legal, financial, or practice growth
• Equipment, medical, and office
• Maintenance and upkeep cost estimates
• Ongoing costs, including rent or property taxes

Collecting data requires gathering facts. Avoid using more lucrative or optimistic numbers. Build your plan based on conservative estimates to set your practice up for success. Determine what benchmarks to establish and measure success.

Develop an initial diagnosis by evaluating whether you’ve made inaccurate assumptions or missed key components. Revisit areas you need to and gather new information.

Seek additional counsel in this process. Your legal and financial advisors are an important resource as you create your plan, not just as you execute it. You may also consult your staff about parts of your plan in which they have expertise. Finally, partnering practitioners should agree with the plan’s approach and direction.

“ Your legal and financial advisors are an important resource as you create your plan, not just as you execute it.  ”

Revisit the diagnosis. Consider the input and adjust your assumptions, numbers, and benchmarks.

Discuss the diagnosis and prognosis with your investor(s). In this step, share your completed business plan with the individual(s) with whom you are working.

Set a follow-up plan to evaluate your progress after certain periods of time.

How to build your medical practice business plan document

It’s one thing to theoretically know how to approach your medical practice business plan and another to sit down and create it. This 8-section outline will give you an idea of the crucial parts of your document.

Make a copy of this sample business plan template that you can customize and use for your practice.

1. Executive summary

In the executive summary, summarize your business model. Incorporate the information you developed while getting to know your practice.

Include an overview of information such as the practice location, services, target patient, local demographics overview, any relevant business history associated with the practice, and your mission and vision for your practice and its community impact. This is also where you will define any existing barriers to moving forward.

“ Your executive summary is an understanding and compelling argument for why the community needs your services.  ”

Your executive summary is an understanding and compelling argument for why the community needs your services. It will highlight how you will fill a need that is not met in the current environment.

This is the section that will get you invited to the investor’s table, as it were. It is the bait on the hook of your argument.

Pro tip: Save the executive summary for last. Once you have the information from the other areas you will research and develop, it will quickly come together.

2. Detailed business model

Define your services and how you’ll manage prospects who fall within and outside those services. Specify your hours of operation. Define and describe your physical office space.

If you intend to offer telehealth , describe how. Define the number of staff you’ll employ, their roles, and how you plan to add staff as your practice grows. Detail the equipment you’ll use and why it’s essential.

Determine which vendors you’ll use for a variety of functions, including office cleaning; non-office hours emergency call management; office, medical, and exam equipment and furniture; office and medical supplies, software; marketing; and physical and digital security .

3. Comprehensive market research and positioning

Provide hard data on the demographics of your local geographic area and how they support your practice. For example, do enough people in your area need your services? What is the median income in the area, and how has that influenced your target fee structure?

“ Define your insurance partners, how their fee structures align with yours, and how competitive your proposed fees are.  ”

Define your insurance partners , how their fee structures align with yours, and how competitive your proposed fees are.

Outline your local competition, the reasons you can be sure there is enough market availability for your new practice, and why your practice is positioned for success above your competition.

4. Detailed staffing model

Even if you plan to be the only provider in your practice, you will still need a plan to answer calls, file insurance claims, maintain files, manage billing , process payroll, and order supplies, among a host of other tasks to keep your practice running smoothly.

In this section of your medical practice business plan, list what positions you will fill and how many people you will need in each. Include compensation, along with any budgeted overtime, as well as benefits and tax considerations. Also, note when you will target hiring each throughout the year.

5. Projected 12-month income and budget

Show the math regarding how many patients you will serve for each service you will offer, your projected fee for each service, and your anticipated overhead expenses.

Your overhead will include items such as:

• Staffing expenses based on the total number of staff and projected salaries.
• All office-related expenses for equipment, supplies, maintenance, utilities, software, marketing, staff recruitment, and temporary services.
• Anticipated vendor expenses such as off-hours call service, telehealth subscriptions, lab processing fees, janitorial services, etc.
• Maintaining licensure, subscribing to professional journals, and attending conferences to stay current.

Make sure to account for one-time or short-term expenses, such as an extra administrative position to cover a known busy month, as well as for ongoing expenses.

6. Potential risks and mitigation

What risks can you anticipate as you open your practice? This is the section where you will think of worst-case scenarios and what you would do were they to become a reality.

Consider scenarios such as:

• A patient sues you. The United States is a very litigious society. What sort of malpractice insurance or bonds do you need to obtain?
• A staff member gets injured at work. In addition to the mandatory worker’s comp, how else would you support them? And what does your insurance cover?
• You get injured at work. How can you protect the longevity of your well-being and that of your practice?
• Another global pandemic hits. How will you staff and maintain patient treatment protocols, what specialized supplies will you need to purchase, what type of insurance rate hikes could you anticipate based on the last pandemic’s model, etc.
• A natural disaster hits. Depending on your geography, are you likely to experience a flood, fire, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, or blizzard? Are there emergency supplies you can keep on hand? Are there specific ways you can shore up your facility to make it more stable — and when would you make those changes? What specialized insurance do you need to purchase?

Talk to a seasoned physician who can provide some mentorship. Ask what they’ve faced during their years of practice and what you need to know to be prepared. Then take that information into meetings with your lawyer and insurance broker.

7. Implementation plan

In your project implementation plan, outline the steps you need to take to open your practice, what milestones you will hit, and an associated date for each major and sub-task. Whether you use formal project management software or create a project plan in a spreadsheet or other document, include that detailed information in this section.

8. Exit strategy

You’re just opening or growing your practice — why would you plan to leave it? Plans change, retirement becomes attractive, large conglomerates buy smaller practices, or a host of other scenarios could happen.

“ Just as you worked through the risks section, there is value in thinking ahead to determine your plan when you are ready for something different.  ”

Just as you worked through the risks section, there is value in thinking ahead to determine your plan when you are ready for something different. Will you sell your practice? How will you transition your patients? What will happen with valuable equipment and supplies?

Identifying these items and addressing what you feel will be the best way to step away from what you are currently creating will make the process more manageable later.

How detailed is an effective business plan?

You know what process to use and the broad sections to include in your business plan, but how detailed should you get?

While you don’t want your business plan development goal to be a target length, a solid business plan typically ends up being somewhere between 30 to 40 pages. This information will include graphs and charts that demonstrate your demographic research, specific equipment needs for positive community impact, budget numbers, etc.

Your business summary and exit strategy sections should not exceed 20% of your overall business plan. Both will provide a high-level overview; neither is the section where you will get into excruciating details.

However, the other 6 sections of your business plan will get into the fine details. Each section should provide narrative information as well as specific numbers that are itemized by topic and category.

Keep your business plan alive

Even though your medical practice business plan can provide information for potential investors, partners, and financiers, it is ultimately the mirror of what you want your business to become. This should be a living document you update and change as your priorities and focus evolve.

“ As you move forward and grow your practice, set yourself up for a larger vision.  ”

As you move forward and grow your practice, set yourself up for a larger vision. Adding 3- and 5-year projections to your 12-month business plan will help refine your sense of your purpose and direction.

By creating a medical practice business plan, you create confidence in not only your ability to attract patients, but also your ability to run the business that serves them long term.

Further Reading

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Karmin Gentili

Karmin Gentili has been a freelance writer and editor since 2016. She has over 25 years of experience in corporate HR and compliance consulting. She has worked to further elevate her skills by pursuing and receiving multiple certifications, including copywriting, video scriptwriting, effective content positioning, case study writing, and SEO. Her love of writing motivates her to use those skills to develop content for the medical field that ensures others can work toward achieving their goals.

Reviewed by

Lauren Wheeler, BCPA, MD

Dr. Lauren Wheeler, MD, BCPA, is a former family medicine physician who currently works as an independent healthcare advocate as well as a medical editor and writer. You can get in touch with her about anything writing or advocacy at her website www.lostcoastadvocacy.com .

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How to Write a Business Plan for a General Practice

• January 3, 2023

Whether you’re looking to raise funding from private investors or to get a loan from a bank (like a SBA loan) for your general practice, you will first need to prepare a solid business plan.

In this article we go through, step-by-step, all the different sections you need in the business plan of your general practice . Use this template to create a complete, clear and solid business plan that get you funded.

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary of a business plan gives a sneak peek of the information about your business plan to lenders and/or investors.

Though the executive summary is the first and the most important section, it should normally be the last section you write as it’s the summary of your business plan.

Why do you need a business plan for a general practice?

The purpose of a business plan is to secure funding through one of the following channels:

• Obtain bank financing or secure a loan from other lenders (such as a SBA loan )
• Obtain private investments from investment funds, angel investors, etc.
• Obtain a public or a private grant

How to write your general practice’s executive summary?

Provide a precise and high-level summary of every section that you have included in the business plan of your general practice. The information and the data you include in this segment should grab the attention of potential investors and lenders immediately.

Also make sure that the executive summary doesn’t exceed 2 pages in total: it’s supposed to be a summary for investors and lenders who don’t have time to scroll through 40-50 pages, so keep it short and brief.

The executive summary usually consists of 5 major sub-sections:

• Business overview : introduce the general practice that you want to open and mention the type of patients you will accept. Provide a brief of the pricing structure and facility capacity (that is, the number of patients you can accommodate at once) so that lenders can understand the scale of your business.
• Market overview : summarise the market where you will operate and provide a brief about your target audience , the total market size , competitors, etc.
• Management & people : hiring goes beyond the medical staff for a general practice. Indeed, if you open a private practice, you may also need a receptionist and other support staff. And if you are partnering with other doctors to form a joint partnership, mention every partner’s role in the setup as well as their experience
• Financial plan : how much profit and revenue do you expect in the next 5 years? When will you reach the break-even point and start making profits? You can include here a chart with your key financials (revenue, gross profit, net profit )
• Funding ask : what loan/investment/grant are you seeking? How much do you need? How long will this last?

General Practice Financial Model

Download an expert-built 5-year Excel financial model for your business plan

2. Business Overview

Here you must clarify the business model that you want to adopt for your general practice. Some of the important questions that you must address include:

• What’s the general practice’s location and why did you select that location?
• Will you start an independent practice or partner with an existing general practice?
• Will you specialise in a few medicine (OB, PEDs, Surgery, Adult Medicine, etc.)?

Let’s look at different subsections that you must include:

a) Business Model

This is where you need to explain the business model you want to adopt. Some of the common models that you can choose from include:

• Single Ownership (or Sole Proprietorship) : this format requires a single personal tax return, allowing for easy operation and maintenance of the business.
• Single Owner Professional Corporation : you may decide to incorporate your general practice clinic. The benefits include lower tax rates, faster debt clearance, etc.
• Joint Ownership : you partner with another general physician to start a general practice. This will require you and your partner to have the same goal. Joint ownership reduces startup costs and distributes administrative responsibilities. Two physicians can collectively attend to more patients and proportionately distribute the revenue.
• Cost Sharing : two physicians only share a few expenses, but they maintain their independence. Some expenses that they usually share include administrative costs, equipment costs, rent, utilities, etc.

b) Pricing Strategy

In this segment, you will need to provide your pricing strategy . Indeed, the prices will vary depending on the services that you are offering.

The golden rule is to maintain a pricing strategy that is aligned with the other general practices in the area.

Generally, the average price for primary care is $25 on average for people with insurance and $107 on average for people without insurance.

Also, clearly mention the insurance companies you will work with. Providing your pricing strategy will provide a fair idea to lenders and investors of your target audience (patients) which they will also tie into your financial projections later on.

c) Legal Structure

Finally, your business overview section should specify what type of business structure you want.

• Is this a corporation or a partnership (LLC)?
• Who are the investors?
• How much equity percentage do they own?
• Is there a Board of Directors? If so, whom? Do they have experience in the industry?

3. Market Overview

Before you start a business, you must get a clear understanding of the market. This knowledge helps to understand the viability of the business and the marketing strategies required to compete with other players.

You must cover 3 important areas in the market overview or market analysis section of your business plan:

• Industry Size & Growth : how big is the primary care or general practice industry in your area? What is its growth rate (or decline rate) and what are the factors contributing to its growth or decline?
• Competitive Landscape : how many competitors are there? How do they compare vs. your business? How can you differentiate yourself from them?
• Patients Overview: who is your target audience? What type of healthcare services do they need the most? What percentage of the target population has insurance?

a) Industry Size & Growth

How big is the primary care industry in the us.

The primary care market in the US was worth $266 billion in 2022 , and is estimated to grow to $342 billion in 2030 (3.2% CAGR).

There are over 140,600 general practice s in the US in 2022. This number increased by 1.1% CAGR from 2017 to 2022.

How big is the Primary Care industry in your area?

Once you provide the overall picture of the US, divert your attention to the area where you want to operate. It might not be possible to find region or area-specific studies, and hence, you must estimate the size. Read our article on how to estimate TAM, SAM and SOM for your business.

For example, we know there are 140,600 general practices in the country with total annual revenue of $266 billion in 2022: that’s an average annual revenue of $1.9 million per general practice .

Therefore, if the area where you want to open your general practice has already 10 competitors, you can safely assume that the primary care industry in your area is worth approximately $19 million.

b) Competitive Landscape

Studying your competitors’ business models is vital. You need to understand what makes them successful or why they fail. A clear understanding of their area of specialization, service offerings, marketing strategies, etc., will allow you to provide a better service.

You must perform proper research (of course, you will have a clear idea of the type of services a general physician can offer depending on specialization) so you can create a competitive chart summarizing their business model, services offered, pricing, etc.

Here is a sample table that you can use:

The table you will create will depend on what information you need and want to include based on your proposed business model.

General Practice SWOT Analysis

Try to provide a SWOT analysis . Here is a sample that you can use as a reference:

• Strengths : 5 years of experience as a GP in a reputed hospital
• Weaknesses : Startup cost, zero reputation
• Opportunities : High percentage of families with children, ageing population in the area
• Threats : 2 big hospitals in the vicinity that offer the same services

A clear understanding of your strengths and weakness along with opportunities and threats in the real market can help you to design your marketing strategy . It also helps potential investors to assess the risk and reward profile of your general practice.

c) Patients Overview

This is the section of your business plan where you should provide a detailed analysis of your target audience.

Some important points that you must include in your customer analysis include:

• Age and gender distribution (you can get local demographic data from census.gov )
• Per capita expenditure on primary healthcare
• Frequency of primary care clinic visits
• Average monthly income and disposable income
• Percentage of insured people vs uninsured people

If possible, include certain additional data points such as climate (that can cause seasonal recurrence of certain health issues) and eating habits (that can be responsible for things like diabetes, obesity, etc.).

4. Sales & Marketing

This section of your general practice business plan summarizes your strategy for acquiring and retaining new patients.

So, here are a few questions to help you stand out when shaping your marketing strategy:

• What are the different marketing strategies you will use? 
• How do you intend to track the success of your marketing strategy? 
• What is your customer acquisition cost (CAC)? 
• What is your marketing budget? 
• What are your Unique Selling Points (USPs)?

What marketing channels do general practices typically use?

A few marketing channels used by general practices include; 

• Signage (especially if you’re close to a busy street)
• Word-of-mouth, recommendations
• Online local listing (Google Business)
• PPC ads, Facebook ads, etc. 
• Email, SMS marketing (to remind existing customers of regular checkups for example)
• Content marketing on social media and blogs

5. Management & People

You must address two things here:

• The management team and their experience/track record
• The organization structure : different team members and who reports to whom?

Small businesses often fail because of managerial weaknesses. Thus, having a strong management team is vital. Highlight the experience and education of other general physicians (partners or not).

No need to provide extra details for general administrative staff such as receptionists, assistants, accountants, etc.

Organization Structure

Even if you haven’t already hired any other GPs, nurses, assistants, accountants, receptionists, and other relevant staff, you must provide a chart of the organization structure defining the hierarchy of reporting as shown below.

6. Financial Plan

The financial plan is perhaps, with the executive summary, the most important section of any business plan for a general practice.

Indeed, a solid financial plan tells lenders that your business is viable and can repay the loan you need from them. If you’re looking to raise equity from private investors, a solid financial plan will prove them your general practice is an attractive investment.

There should be 2 sections to your financial plan section:

• The startup costs of your general practice
• The 5-year financial projections

a) Startup Costs

Before we expand on 5-year financial projections in the following section, it’s always best practice to start with listing the startup costs of your project. For a general practice, startup costs are all the expenses you incur before you open your practice and start receiving patients.

These expenses typically are: the lease for the space, the renovation costs, the equipment and furniture.

Logically, the startup costs vary depending on the size of your practice, the treatments you will offer (and therefore the equipment you need), the quality of the equipment and furniture, whether you buy the real estate or rent a commercial space, etc.

b) Financial Projections

In addition to startup costs, you will now need to build a solid 5-year financial model .

Your financial projections should be built using a spreadsheet (e.g. Excel or Google Sheets) and presented in the form of tables and charts in the business plan of your general practice.

As usual, keep it concise here and save details (for example detailed financial statements, financial metrics, key assumptions used for the projections) for the appendix instead.

Your financial projections should answer at least the following questions:

• How much revenue do you expect to generate over the next 5 years?
• When do you expect to break even?
• How much cash will you burn until you get there?
• What’s the impact of a change in pricing (say 15%) on your margins?
• What is your average customer acquisition cost?

You should include here your 3 financial statements (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement). This means you must forecast:

• The number of patients you can receive in a day or in a week ;
• Your expected revenue ;
• Operating costs to run the business ;
• Any other cash flow items (e.g. capex, working capital , debt repayment, etc.).

When projecting your revenue, make sure to sensitize pricing (prices of treatments and services) and your sales volume (number of patients). Indeed, a small change in these assumptions may have a significant impact on your revenues and profits.

7. Use of Funds

This is the last section of the business plan of your general practice. Now that we have explained what your general practice’s business model and services are, your marketing strategy, etc., this section must now answer the following questions:

• How much funding do you need?
• What financial instrument(s) do you need: is this equity or debt, or even a free-money public grant?
• How long will this funding last?
• Where else does the money come from? If you apply for a SBA loan for example, where does the other part of the investment come from (your own capital, private investors?)

If you raise debt:

• What percentage of the total funding the loan represents?
• What is the corresponding Debt Service Coverage Ratio ?

If you raise equity

• What percentage ownership are you selling as part of this funding round?
• What is the corresponding valuation of your business?

Use of Funds

Any general practice business plan should include a clear use of funds section. This is where you explain how the money will be spent.

Will you spend most of the loan / investment in paying your employees’ salaries? Or will it cover mostly the cost for the lease deposit for the space, the renovation and equipment?

Those are very important questions you should be able to answer in the blink of an eye. Don’t worry, this should come straight from your financial projections.

For the use of funds, we also recommend using a pie chart like the one we have in our financial model template where we outline the main expenses categories as shown below.

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#4. Perfect Your Business Operations

Business operations is how your practice functions day-to-day. While a plan allows you to come up with strategies, business success is mostly an outcome of quality execution. The scope of business operations span across every function like finance, marketing, HR, and so on. Even though business operations can only begin post launch, you can start learning about operations.

Best organizations aim for process-driven and result-oriented operations. — For instance, you can use methods like  Objectives and Key Results  (OKRs) — a collaborative goal-setting process that helps you improve organizational performance.

While a general management experience allows you to deal with many scenarios, you can also list down and think how to go about the critical ones. For example:

• What should your staff do to deliver the best experience?
• How can you resolve patient issues quickly?
• How will you conduct monthly performance reviews?

#5. Bring a Financial Discipline

Working capital, billing, rent, mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities,… there are too many things to account for. Unlike other areas like operations and marketing, you may not be able to make quick decisions for finances. So the earlier you get involved in financial planning, the better is your ability to control the outcomes.

If you don’t have any financial expertise, use basic calculations including investments, recurring expenses, and income. You can consider financial projection for upto three years to get an approximate idea about your finances. To bring financial discipline to your practice, you must use budgeting. Budgeting ensures that you will have enough money for the things you need and reduce overspending on unnecessary things.

#6. Don’t Ignore Marketing

Marketing is more than advertising and brand building. It includes several other things like getting feedback from customers, doing competitor analysis, and pricing correctly. So marketing is not a gimmick, but an important process for growth of any business. If you are not marketing, you could be leaving the growth of your practice to chance.

Even when you don’t want to advertise, there are a few other great ways of promoting your practice. For example, asking your patients for reviews on Google Maps will improve your visibility in local searches. Another great way is to post content like blog articles, videos, podcasts, etc that your patients find useful and get to know about you.

Since every practice has its own unique factors like demographic, location, etc, marketing requirements differ. So the marketing has to adapt to your unique situation rather than going for mainstream ideas. For example, if your patients are of an older demographic in a rural area, radio ads could be the best way to get the word out about your practice.

Marketing deserves special attention in your business plan. Your plan can focus on gaining maximum exposure to your potential patients. Even if that requires additional investments. By prioritizing growth over recouping investments early, you create a long-lasting traction for your practice.

#7. Check Government Laws & Regulations

The US federal, state, and local authorities have rules to protect the public, promote access to care, and to ensure that medical providers adhere to the rules. Laws and regulations are complex. So you need to have a thorough understanding of them before starting your practice.

This is a list of a few important laws and regulations for healthcare providers in the US:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA)
• Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP)
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA)
• Affordable Care Act

You can learn more about US healthcare laws and regulations  here .

#8. Hire the Best

People are the heart of any organization. Having the right staff relieves you from everything else and let’s you focus more on providing better healthcare. It’s almost like putting everything else on auto-pilot. However, recruiting is not easy. You may have to put more effort than you planned for hiring. Additionally, you must research and plan for competitive salaries, work schedules, and training.

Here are a few websites to find experienced staff for your practice:

• Healthcare eCareers
• JAMA network
• Medical Jobs

#9. List Down Equipment and Other Requirements

The most straightforward part of your business plan is to list down all the equipment and essentials. Here’s a short list you can use:

• Clinic Equipment:  Stethoscopes, exam tables, otoscopes, blood pressure monitors, and other monitors
• Office Equipment:  Computers, printers, network equipment, phones and payment machines
• Supplies:  General medicine, disinfectant, anaesthetic, gloves, scalpels, syringes, gauze, and bandages
• Network Services:  Phone networks, internet, utilities
• Clothing:  Lab coats, uniforms, and name tags
• Furniture:  Tables, chairs, and decor

#10. Perform a SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis allows you to have a clear overview of your practice. It will force you to look at your practice from new perspectives. This final step is one of the most crucial ones.

To create a SWOT analysis, you can critically analyse all areas of your practice and list down your conclusions in columns with S, W, O, and T. While strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, the opportunities and threats are external factors to your practice. The conclusions must be simple, objective, and short.

Towards Launching Your Practice

A business plan allows you to define, strategise, and gain clarity through all areas of your medical practice . Remember that a business plan is not set in stone. Planning is a continuous activity, and needs periodic reviews and updates. You are always moving through the plan-execute-review cycles. Though it may seem complicated, investing time for thoughtful planning can make your practice successful.

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How to Write a Business Plan for an Outpatient Medical Practice

Noah Parsons

16 min. read

Updated February 7, 2024

Free Download:  Sample Medical Practice Business Plan Template

So you’re thinking about starting your own outpatient medical practice.

You probably have many good reasons to open a private practice. Private practices can be lucrative, although it requires you to spend time building relationships with patients while also attending to all business processes that are part of running your practice .

Maybe you want more autonomy over your practice and your workflow. Or maybe you hope to expand your services to underserved areas or specific populations based on your expertise.

If you’re thinking about starting an outpatient medical practice, one of the first things you should do is write a business plan. Even if you’re able to self-fund your practice and don’t need outside investment, your business plan is a great tool for thinking through all the different aspects of building a profitable and sustainable practice.

You should go into this thinking about your business plan as a living document, not something you do once and then file away forever. Use it as a tool, especially around your financials. Revisit and update it regularly by comparing your forecasts to your actuals and adjusting as necessary.

To help you get started, you can download our free business plan template . If you’ve never written a business plan before, Bplans also offers a library of sample medical business plans that you can review or even download to use as a model.

• Executive summary

The first section that will appear in your business plan is the executive summary . But before you dive right in, it’s the section of your plan that you should actually write last. It’s a summary and an overview of your outpatient medical practice and your plans, so it will be easy to put together after you’ve written the rest of your plan.  

Executive summaries are short—keep it to one to two pages. Keep in mind that if you’re using your plan to get funding, investors and banks tend to read your executive summary to get a sense of whether to read on and consider your request. Do not neglect it; just write it last.

Your executive summary will include the following sections:

• Who you are: Your business name, location, and contact information.  
• What you offer and the problem your business solves: What does your practice offer and why is it needed? This is your value proposition .
• Target market: Who is your ideal patient? Do they self-pay or use insurance? Be specific.
• Competition: Who else is offering similar services?
• Team: Who is on your management team?
• Financial summary: Explain your business model, startup costs, revenues, and liabilities to the company. Mention your funding needs.
• Milestones and traction: How have you validated that there’s a need for your practice in your location?

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Now that you’re familiar with what’s included in your executive summary, tuck that information away, and get to work on the rest of your plan.

Think of the next few sections of your plan as the overarching description of your practice’s business opportunity. You’ll cover the problem you’ve identified and the solution that your practice offers. Then you’ll think through your ideal customer , your competition , and your opportunities for growth . This section area should describe the services you provide and how they benefit your patients.

• Problem and solution

First, describe the problem that you’ve identified and how your practice solves that problem. Here’s a brief example:

The problem : There is a lack of affordable pediatric and gynecological care available in coastal areas of Lane County, Oregon. Many patients have to travel miles to the closest practice.  

The solution : Dr. Gardner plans to open Ocean Lane Outpatient Care to serve smaller Oregon coastal communities scattered outside of major towns with major hospitals. Due to her focus on pediatric and gynecological care, Dr. Gardner’s particular services are especially valuable in this location due to the lack of available service providers in the area. Dr. Gardner’s practice will accept private insurance and Medicaid, as well as a sliding scale for patients in a certain income bracket.   

The services section identifies what kind of medical practice you are opening. Restate who your practice serves and what kind of services you specialize in. Talk about how your practice approaches treatment and what goals you have in addition to providing quality care. Here’s an example from a sample business plan for a medical practice.

Include a breakdown of all services furnished by the clinic, being as granular as possible. For example:

Gynecology:

• Annual women’s wellness exam

Pediatrics:

• Immunizations
• Youth eating disorder treatment
• Target market

Next, talk about your ideal patients. If you’re in the earliest stages, you’ll want to do some research that verifies your hypotheses.

For example, Dr. Gardner would have needed to verify her assumption that people in coastal towns in Oregon are in need of pediatric and gynecological services—a need that isn’t currently satisfied by available resources.

A formal market analysis can help verify that there’s a need for your particular practice in your intended location.  

Your target market section should include:

• TAM, SAM, and SOM: Total Available Market (TAM), Segment of the Available Market (SAM), Share of the Market (SOM). Here, you are looking at the difference between targeting everyone: TAM (all people who need medical care—so all humans in your area), versus your ideal clients: SAM (maybe this is those with certain insurance or ability to self-pay), versus the number of new patients you think you can realistically reach: SOM, especially within your first few years. The idea is that not everyone will be an ideal patient. It matters because you can waste a lot of money with marketing outreach to everyone, instead of targeting a specific population that is more likely to be looking for your services.
• Buyer persona : Imagine there’s one specific patient who represents your ideal patient. Be specific. Maybe she’s 34 years old, has private insurance, is relatively healthy, but needs more regular medical care and advice.  
• Competition and competition matrix : List competitors and analyze what makes them competitive. For instance, your competitors might be large hospitals because of the wide range of services they offer. You might also be competing with local chiropractors or other alternative medicine practices that already have a foothold in local communities.
• Future products and services : Name the products/services you will offer as your practice grows and earns more money and as your patients develop new needs. Maybe you will want to open a second location when you gain enough patients. Or maybe you will want to extend your practice’s hours of operation.

Ideal patient profile

Your ideal patient profile identifies the type of patient whom you hope to attract and retain. To clarify, this does not mean you only serve your ideal patient type. Rather, focusing your outreach efforts on attracting your ideal patient will allow you to grow your practice more effectively than targeting a large number of patients who may or may not be in the market for your practice’s specialty.

When developing your ideal patient profile, consider:

• Who you enjoy working with
• Who needs the services you provide
• Who can and will pay your pricing (or have an insurance plan that you want to accept)

For instance, because Dr. Gardner specializes in preventive and curative care, a patient seeking palliative treatment for terminal cancer is not the ideal patient. This patient would not receive the best care for their needs from Dr. Gardner’s services.

Acquiring a new patient is six to seven times more expensive than retaining a current patient. In order to support and retain current patients, develop a strategy to proactively meet their needs and set benchmarks to measure the success of your strategy.

• Execution: How your practice will respond to the opportunity

First, your business plan laid out the opportunity at hand. Now, the rest of your plan will focus on how to take advantage of that opportunity. Now is the time to lay out what you’ll do to attract patients and set up a viable business model with healthy financials.

Components of this section include:

• Your marketing and sales plan
• Strategic partnerships or alliances
• Your operations plan
• Your team and company information
• Financial plan
• Milestones and metrics that you’ll need to hit to be viable
• Your key assumptions and risks
• Your funding ask and exit strategy, if applicable
• Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales component of your plan should include how you plan to reach the patients in your target market, how you’ll bill for your services, and what you need to do to bring in the right number and type of patients.

• Positioning : Describe how you will present your company to your customers with your positioning statement . Think about answering these questions: What are you offering your patients that they can’t get elsewhere? Why should they pick you instead of another practice? Where do you see yourself in the competitive landscape? Use this model to help:

“For [target market description] who [target market need], [how our business offering meets the need]. Unlike [key competition], it [most distinguishing feature].”

For [coastal community members] who [require gynecological care], Ocean Lane Outpatient Care [provides both pediatric and women’s health services]. Unlike [other area medical practices], Ocean Lane Outpatient Care is [conveniently located near the communities it serves and can fill the gap between pure pediatric care and full-blown adult care for young women].

• Pricing and billing : Medical pricing is complex, especially if you plan to work with insurance companies. Practice Builders says that “a 10 percent increase in pricing can result in a much better return than a 10 percent reduction in costs—or even a 10 percent increase in patient volume.”

Make sure you price your services at what they are worth and explain your pricing to your patients. Consider the demographics your practice serves when you choose your pricing. Research other practices in the area and learn more   about how you can choose the best prices for your patients and your practice.Also, consider how you will get patients to keep coming back to your practice. Sometimes you can increase sales by upselling and cross-selling , or offering complementary services.

If you accept insurance, the contracts you set up with insurance companies for reimbursement will probably dictate your pricing, so this is a good place to talk about your negotiation strategy as well.

• Update your website and social media frequently and ensure your website is mobile-friendly and share-friendly with credible links added.
• Make sure all communications with and about patients are HIPAA-compliant . Download a HIPAA Compliance Guide to ensure you are following regulations.
• Maintain a positive online reputation for your practice as a key management technique. You can do this by claiming your profile on any third-party sites that list it. Encourage your patients to review you online, too.
• Strategic alliances : List any people or organizations with whom you are working. You will most likely need to partner with a regional lab for medical testing. Opening an on-site lab can be costly for a smaller practice. You will most likely need to partner with a nearby hospital as part of a referral system or to share select services and equipment.

The operations section of your business plan covers how your business works, from the logistics to the technology.

• Technology: Describe how your technology works, but do not go into too much detail. Investors can ask for more information if they want to. Will you rent or buy equipment ? The technology you need ranges from simple items like thermometers to more complex items like centrifuges.
• Billing and information storage: Provide a brief overview of how you will manage information technology and patient records to promote safety, efficiency, and compliance with HIPPA  regulations and industry standards. Explain your usage of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software in this section.
• Payment types you accept: Consider payment types such as private pay, private insurance, Medicaid/Medicare, etc. What kind of referrals can you offer to the uninsured or those who cannot afford your services?
• Milestones and metrics

In this part of your plan, you set measurable, achievable milestones, such as the number of new patients added per month in the first year of operations. Milestones can be about any aspect of your medical practice as long as they emphasize growth. For metrics , decide which numbers to check regularly to track your company’s health. This area should also include information about traction (past successes) and risks:

• Traction: Look back at major milestones you have achieved. Hopefully, they demonstrate that your business model works and that you are filling a need for your market. If you’re looking to attract private funders, this section is important since it shows your initial success .
• Key assumptions and risks : Acknowledge the assumptions you are basing your business on. Set out to prove them right if you can. Also, discuss risks so that investors know you have considered what could go wrong and that you have a plan for dealing with challenges. Malpractice suits and changing healthcare regulations are risks specific to the healthcare field. Malpractice insurance is a must for addressing the former. Changing healthcare regulations can affect the volume of patients who are able to afford your services.

Your team can be more important than your product or service. Describe your team here, even if it is just you and a receptionist who answers the phone in your office building.

• Management team and qualifications: Address who works for you, what do they do, and how much you pay them. Compile the details of their relevant experience and education.
• Hiring plans : Outline who, if anyone, you need to hire to fill skills gaps in your management team and how much you plan to pay them.
• Company overview

The company overview tells about who you and your staff are and appeals to potential investors. Keep it short—it should be the shortest chapter of your business plan but is still very important.

It needs to include these elements:

• Mission statement : Your mission statement articulates your goals for what your company does for its customers, employees, and owners. It will read something like this: “Our mission is to provide X (services) for Y (customers) by Z (methods).” For instance, Ocean Lane Outpatient Care is dedicated to providing quality care for all the inhabitants of coastal Lane County by providing affordable and versatile services.”
• Intellectual property : List any patents you have or have pending, and mention any core technology you are licensing from another company.
• Legal structure and ownership : Explain your business structure and who owns how much of it. More on considerations for physicians and legal structure here.
• Business location : Describe the company’s location and any facilities it owns.
• Company history if it’s an existing company

Having a solid financial plan is critical, whether you’re seeking funding or not.  A typical financial plan includes projections by month for the first year and annual projection for the next three to five.

Include these key elements:

• Profit and loss statement : this explains how your business made a profit or incurred a loss in a given amount of time (typically three months) by listing all revenue and expenses, then documenting the total amount of net profit or loss.
• Cash flow statement: documentation of how much cash the business brought in, how much it paid out, and the amount of its ending cash balance (on a monthly basis).
• Balance sheet : snapshots how your company is performing at a given moment by including how much money you have in the bank, how much your customers owe you, and how much you owe your vendors.
• Sales forecast : projections of what you think you will sell in a given timeframe (one to three years).
• Business ratios : Comparisons of your company’s financials with numbers from the industry profile.
• Keep it brief. For example, Dr. Gardner will employ administrative aides and nurses.
• Use of funds : Needed if you’re seeking investment or a loan. This section explains how you will use investors’ money.
• Exit strategy : You only need this if you’re seeking outside investment. An exit strategy is a method by which entrepreneurs and investors, especially those that have invested large sums of money, transfer ownership of their business to a third party to recoup money invested in the business. Common exit strategies include being acquired by another company, the sale of equity, or a management or employee buyout.

When writing your financial plan, make sure to consider startup costs . For a medical practice, average startup costs can include initial fees, malpractice insurance, cost of renting or leasing office space, and the cost of any legal or tax advisors.

Consider submitting your plan to at least five to 10 banks if you need help financing your startup costs. Many banks have divisions designated to providing loans to new dental and medical practices , so submit your plan to that division if you can. Startup costs can be high in the medical field, so make sure not to underestimate them.

Finally, your appendix is the holder for any supporting information such as charts, images, graphs, and more. If you need to include large sets of data or pages of information, put it here. That way, it is available but does not distract from the plan’s most important pieces.

For instance, you can expand on your personnel plan with charts of each employee’s annual insurance costs. You can also include versions of your profit and loss statements and other financials that extend further into the future.

Don’t forget to go back to your executive summary! Remember to keep it brief and write it based on what you have written already.

When you’re ready to write your business plan, there are an array of resources available to you. Download our free business startup checklist to think about the next steps. Also, check out our free business plan template . Reviewing sample business plans in the medical field can help you get a better sense of the process and information you’ll provide. Downloading this plan for a family medicine clinic will probably be most helpful if you’re setting up a primary care practice.

Remember that this plan is a living document. Schedule a regular business plan review meeting. You should review your trajectory and compare your financial projections to your actuals frequently to keep your practice on track.

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

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28 February 2017

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Creating a business plan for your practice

Anthony Brand advises on how to develop the perfect business plan

Every practice should be thought of as a business and it is vital that these businesses set a budget, especially in the current uncertain NHS economy. 

The first step is to understand that the business plan and the budget should be developed as separate processes. Here’s the difference. The business plan is a statement of strategic objectives and an outline for how these objectives will be met. The budget is an essential part of the business planning – it is an estimate of income, costs and cash flows over a specified period. It should reflect the objectives set by the business plan and other events that are forecast to occur.

The budget will be drafted ahead of the business plan so that the strategy can be formulated. Once the strategy and business plan are agreed the budget can be fine tuned.

Start planning

Another misconception is that business plans are primarily for new practices or for raising money. They are, however, important for all practices. Given the changes in contracts, government policy, the NHS labour market and the economy in general, a specific plan that confirms your key objectives is essential. It should outline how your practice will remain profitable, how many patients it will take to generate income at current contract rates, and how you are going to achieve your objectives.

It might help to look at what NHS England says about its own business plan for 2016/17.1 It sets out 10 priorities, organised under three headings:

1. Improving health – closing the health and wellbeing gap.

2. Transforming care – closing the care and quality gap.

3. Controlling costs and enabling change – closing the finance and efficiency gap.

NHS England chair Malcolm Grant says in the plan’s foreword: “Our responsibility is to allocate and invest these funds wisely to improve health and wellbeing, secure high-quality care, derive value for money for the public’s investment and create a sustainable future for the NHS.”

As a specialist medical accountant my responsibility is to help GP practices achieve the third point above.

Drafting the budget is the first step. Here are the main components.

1. Income and expenditure

Income and expenditure must be forecasted, broken down into the main elements, which should mirror the categories in your practice accounts.

• Global sum.
• Correction factor.
• Enhanced services – in detail.
• Notional rent.
• Reimbursements.
• Other NHS income.
• Non-NHS income.

Expenditure:

• Manpower costs (see below).
• Administrative/office costs.
• Medical expenses (drugs and subscriptions).
• Bank charges and interest.
• Depreciation.

2. Manpower costs

Manpower is the only cost where significant changes may be made by the partners. Getting the optimum level is crucial to efficiency and profitability.

The manpower budget should be broken down into:

• Non-partner doctor costs – salaried GPs and locums.
• Clinical non-doctor costs – nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists.
• Administrative staff – management, secretarial, reception.

Don’t forget to include the cost of employer’s national insurance and superannuation contributions, both of which are significant.

3. Benchmarks 

Compare your income and expenditure per patient and per partner with other practices. Looking at local norms will give you an indication of whether your budget is realistic.

An accredited specialist medical accountant should be able to provide you with benchmarking figures.

4. Profit allocation

Having struck a realistic profit forecast you should allocate this among the GP partners as agreed between them. This is also a good time to check that you have an up-to-date, signed partnership agreement.

5. Partners’ drawings

The profit allocation will represent the projected drawings and will take account of:

• Superannuation contributions.
• Tax and national insurance contributions (if saved in the practice).
• Loan repayments.
• Specific items (for example notional rent or seniority).
• An agreed amount to be retained.

With partner drawings calculated, it is now possible to feed all the above components into a month-by-month cashflow forecast. This also should take account of other changes such as:

• Partner changes and capital repayments and introductions.
• Changes in premises and loans.
• Other likely circumstances dictating a financial impact.

Summary of two to three-year forecast

For the purposes of a business plan, your budget should include a summary profit and loss forecast for years two and three. Admittedly this will be educated guesswork based on the 12-month budget – but it will help the parties reviewing the business plan to focus.  

The business plan

The budgets will be a part of the business planning discussion and a revised budget may be created as a result. The following is how it might be created. 

What is it?

A consensus or agreement by the partners of how the practice should perform over a specified period – which I suggest is the year ahead and then the next two years in outline.

How is consensus reached?

All partners must be allowed to air their views and state their personal objectives and vision for the practice.

I like the idea of a partners’ away day or time-out meeting. A Saturday morning works well for GP practices. Here are some key points to consider when planning an away day:

• Everyone who should participate does so, and is allowed to state their own objectives. If a GP is intending to retire in 12 months’ time, this is when they should tell everyone. 
• A facilitator (perhaps independent of the practice) can help at the meeting to resolve conflicts and help put together the consensus. They are not there to lecture.
• A written action plan is created.
• A follow-up meeting is scheduled.

What should you talk about?

A SWOT analysis – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – should allow you to cover most issues. 

In looking at SWOT consider questions such as:

• What do we do well? l What do we do badly or inefficiently? l What are our neighbours doing? Should we talk to them?
• What forthcoming events do we need to plan for?
• Are we paid for everything we do?
• Are we sure that all services turn a profit?
• How will contract changes impact on us?
• Do we pay ourselves too much?
• Are our financial controls strong enough?
• What feedback do we get?
• Do we need more patients? 
• How will contract changes impact on them?
• Have we got the right staff mix?
• How good is staff morale?
• When was the last time we took notice of staff suggestions?
• Have we got the right partner/GP mix? 
• Are our premises up to scratch?
• Are we using our premises as much as we could be?

Inevitably the practice’s budget will scrutinised as part of this review. Benchmarking of performance against similar practices is of great value in pinpointing strengths and weaknesses.

Strategic planning pitfalls

Common pitfalls practices encounter in strategic planning are:

• Not involving everyone. 
• Being unable to reach a consensus – not being able to write down the plan will result in failure. 
• Failure to implement the plan – this is the biggest mistake.

Creating the plan

Once the budget has been prepared and the strategy agreed, the next step is to create a written plan. How long should the plan be? Well, it’s a plan, not a work of art – so be concise so that everyone is inspired, not bored into inaction. Points to include:

• An executive summary of action points.
• Where the practice is now.
• SWOT analysis.
• Partners’ personal objectives.
• Practice objectives and goals.
• Forthcoming challenges in meeting those objectives.
• Proposed action and responsibilities.
• Financial implications (budgets).
• Procedures for monitoring and review.

A business plan is only a plan, but it provides specific goals to work towards and can be a simple way for practice managers and their GP partners, even those with limited business knowledge, to take control of issues and reduce them to manageable tasks and ideas. But everyone must buy into it. As Stephen Hawking said: “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change”.

1. NHS England Business Plan 2016/17. www.england.nhs.uk/publications/business-plan/

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How To Write a Business Plan for Opening a Medical Practice

After you have finalised (or semi-finalised) your decisions from the  first six steps , it’s time to put it all together in your business plan.

Your business plan should articulate your short and long term strategy, and have details on marketing, staffing, and patient retention plans, as well as how you will get your practice up and running and meet your financial forecasting.

This document demonstrates your organisational and planning skills to key stakeholders, and is essential to have if you intend to secure finance for your practice.

To complete everything you will most likely need to enlist some specialist input from accountants, financial planners, and legal advisors. Our suggestion is to surround yourself with subject matter experts, and reach out to other people in your network who have started and ran successful medical businesses for advice.

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There are many ways to create a business plan for your practice, and no two plans are the same. To get you started, we’ve collaborated with some of our practice owners to get their collective advice on assembling a business plan checklist for you. We have broken this checklist template down with the following segments:

Business Summary

Your business summary is something that is usually written last. It is a short overview of the information following in your business plan and should be no longer than one page. Many people write this piece last, after all the information in their business plan has been collated.

Here’s what should be included in your summary:

• Brief business overview
• Business owner/s biography
• Products and/or services offered
• Competitive advantage
• Operational performance
• Financial position

Business Profile

The Business Profile should include an overview of all the details about your clinic. It should include the why, where, and what.

• Vision, mission, values
• Trading Hours
• Services: in-house/onsite/other
• Service fees: Billing model, bulk billed/mixed pricing
• Accreditation

This segment of the business plan outlines your practice location (either something you have already secured, or your ideal location. You might want to consider including floor plan and any other location based documents in your appendices section.

Outline the following:

• Location address
• Location description
• Buy / Build / Lease (what have you done/what are your intentions)
• Sub letting opportunities – are there any opportunities for allied, pathology, pharmacy
• Fit out and design plans and costs
• Parking: Patients, staff, practitioners
• Access: Public transport, foot traffic, disabled, ambulance
• Area demographics
• Area-based future developments
• Area competition

Marketing Strategy

The Marketing Strategy outlines everything from branding to advertising. How are you going to get new patients coming through your door? What is your branding strategy? Where do you sit in the market?

• Practice name
• Practice brand
• Target market demographic (should tie in with segments of the area demographics)
• Unique value proposition
• Advertising and promotions (online, offers, affiliations)
• Launch plan
• Post-launch plan
• Marketing goals

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis section needs to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the environment you will be opening a practice in. Your competitive advantage should also outline how your clinic is different and why patients will choose you instead of your competitors.

• Opportunity assessment
• Demographic review
• Supply vs demand
• Direct competition list (include services offered, location, pricing etc)
• Your competitive advantage

Business Structure

• The Business Structure demonstrates how the business is/will be legally set up and should indicate that you have ongoing legal expertise to ensure the stability of your practice.
• Growth flexibility (unit trust/partnership etc)
• Exit and succession planning
• Legal framework (Eg: Unit holder agreement)

Supplier Breakdown

In this section, outline the different suppliers you intend to form agreements with for your practice. Include an overview, details of goods, and basic pricing/contract arrangements.

• I.T. hardware and support
• Online booking system
• Medical equipment
• Medical consumables
• Stationary and amenities

The Staffing section is an overview of the strategies you will use to attract and retain staff, practitioners, and list any key staff you already have on the team.

• How will you attract practitioners
• Practitioner remuneration (wages vs contractor and billing %)
• How will sessions be rostered

Medical practices need very comprehensive insurance. In this section outline the cover you have for the piece of mind for your financiers and stakeholders.

• Public liability
• Professional indemnity
• Directors liability
• Workers compensation
• General insurance

Financial Planning

The Financial Planning section should demonstrate that your business is financially viable. Include comprehensive outlines and numbers for the following:

• Budgets: Setup and operating costs
• Funding needed/secured and sources
• Profit and loss modelling
• Tax planning

Phew! Still with us after all that? There’s a lot that goes into creating a solid business plan. Fortunately we’re the experts, and we can help you get things right from the start. Download our Business Plan Checklist  or find out more about how HealthEngine’s suite of tools can help grow your new practice.

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Business Plan For GP Practice

Congratulations on taking the first step in creating a business plan for gp practice. This is an essential step towards entrepreneurial success and a well-crafted business plan will provide a solid foundation for your business venture!

Whether you're a budding entrepreneur with a brilliant idea or a seasoned business owner looking to expand, a thoughtfully constructed business plan will help you plan and navigate towards business prosperity.

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the essential elements of creating a business plan for gp practice that captures your vision as well as attracting investors, partners, and customers alike. From defining your mission and identifying your target market to formulating financial projections and developing a robust marketing strategy, our aim is to empower you with the knowledge and tools needed to turn your aspirations into a reality.

So whether you're just starting out or you're looking to revamp your existing business plan, read on for everything you need to know.

Why is a business plan important?

A business plan will help you think about your gp practice business like you’ve never done before. This thinking will help you clarify important elements like your long-term goals and objectives. You can then work backwards from your goals to develop strategies and marketing campaigns to help make these objectives a reality.

A business plan will also help you think about your customers in great detail. You will be able to understand their wants and needs, where they hang out, and exactly how you will target them. This clarity will enable you to focus on developing the products or services they want.

Finally, if you are seeking outside capital such as investment or a bank loan, a well-thought-out business plan will show them you are serious about your business and you have developed a clear and thorough plan of action to achieve success.

A Business Plan For Gp Practice - The Key Parts

The executive summary, your company description, market analysis, products and services.

• Marketing Strategy
• Operational Plan
• Financial Projections

Risk Analysis

• Funding Request and Use of Funds (if applicable)
• Additional Information

An executive summary of your business plan for gp practice is a brief overview of your business plan.

This is the first thing that potential investors or lenders will see, so it is crucial that you make a good impression. Keep this section short and highlight the key points of your plan.

What should an executive summary include?

• Overview of the Business
• Mission Statement
• Key Objectives
• Summary of Products/Services
• Financial Highlights and Funding Requirements (if applicable)

Remember potential investors don’t always have huge amounts of time to read your document so make sure that you condense the critical information, enabling the reader to make quick and well-informed judgments. Tips for the Executive Summary

Wait until you’ve written the whole business plan and then come back and complete the executive summary. This way you will know your business plan for gp practice inside and out so you can highlight the key elements of the document. Remember the Executive Summary will shape the reader's initial perception of the business and whether they continue reading the document.

If you are looking for any tips on how to improve any section of your business plan, check out our Learning Zone , which has several in-depth guides on each section of the business plan.

The Company Description section of your gp practice business plan is crucial as it offers a comprehensive overview of your business. This section provides essential information about your company's history, mission, vision, legal structure, location, and key milestones. It allows readers to gain a clear understanding of your company's fundamental characteristics and the context in which it operates.

When crafting your company description, make sure to include the following key elements:

• Business Name and Legal Structure: Clearly state the legal name of the company and its legal structure.
• Business History: Provide a brief overview of how the business came into existence. Highlight key milestones or events that shaped the company's growth and development.
• Mission and Vision Statements: Present the company's mission statement, which outlines its purpose and primary goals. Additionally, share the vision statement, which describes the long-term vision and objectives for your business.
• Products and Services: Briefly explain the products or services your business offers, emphasising their unique selling points and how they address customer needs.
• Competitive Advantages: Clearly state the competitive advantages that differentiate your business from others in the market. This could include unique features, patents, proprietary technology, or a strong brand presence.
• Location and Facilities: Provide details about the physical location of your business and any facilities required to operate successfully.

Tips for writing the company description section:

• Interweave storytelling into the company's history, tell the reader about your passion for the business and the journey you’ve been on to get to this point.
• Include strong visuals and infographics.
• Avoid jargon and keep the writing style clear and concise.
• Focus on your company's unique selling point (USP) and how that makes you stand out in the marketplace.
• Back up this information with customer testimonials if possible.

The market analysis section of your gp practice business plan is essential for understanding the competitive landscape and the overall business environment. It is crucial to execute this section effectively as it demonstrates your in-depth knowledge of the market dynamics. This process will enable you, as an entrepreneur, to identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and develop strategies for success.

To conduct a good market analysis, it is important to have a deep understanding of the industry you are operating in. This information will help you make informed decisions about your product or service offerings, marketing strategies, and pricing.

Key elements to include in your market analysis section:

• Industry Overview: Provide a general overview of your industry. Describe the industry's size, growth rate, major players, and key trends. Include relevant statistics and data to support your claims.
• Target Market and Customer Segmentation: Clearly define your target market and outline the specific customer segments you aim to serve. Identify the needs, preferences, and behaviours of each segment.
• Competitor Analysis: Identify direct and indirect competitors in the market. Analyse their strengths, weaknesses, market share, and strategies. Highlight areas where your business differentiates itself from competitors.
• Market Trends and Opportunities: Explore current and future trends in the industry and market. Assess how these trends can impact your business positively and identify potential opportunities for growth.
• SWOT Analysis (optional): Consider including a SWOT analysis specific to your market. This can help you understand your business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the context of the market.

How to nail the market analysis section?

• Differentiation: Focus on highlighting how your business differentiates itself from competitors, really try to drum home this point.
• Market Surveys or Interviews: Adding surveys or interviews and adding the key findings and quotes in the Market Analysis to support your claims will help reinforce the plans in your document.
• Competitive Matrix: a competitive matrix visually comparing your business against key competitors based on factors such as price, features, and customer service. This matrix is a great visual method highlighting your competitive advantages.
• Emerging Technologies or Trends: Identifying potential disruptions and how your company is prepared for them shows a great understanding of market dynamics and trends.

Looking for more inspiration on how to make your market analysis section even better, then check out our in-depth business market analysis guide.

In this section, we will highlight the core products and services that make your gp practice business unique and valuable. It is essential to showcase what sets you apart from the competition and why your offerings are exceptional. This information is especially important for potential investors, partners, and customers who are keen to understand what sets your business apart in the market.

When describing your products and services ensure you include the following information:

• Description of Products/Services: Provide a clear and concise description of each product or service your business offers. Explain their primary function and how they address customer needs.
• Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Highlight the unique features or benefits that make your products or services stand out from competitors. Clearly state why customers should choose your offerings over alternatives.
• Product/Service Life Cycle: Describe where each product or service stands in its life cycle (e.g., introduction, growth, maturity, decline) and outline plans for updates or new offerings in the future.
• Intellectual Property (if applicable): If your business has any intellectual property (e.g., patents, trademarks, copyrights) related to your products or services, mention them in this section.

Extra elements to make this section stand out:

• Customer Use Cases: Present real-life customer use cases or success stories that illustrate how your products or services have solved specific problems for customers. Use compelling narratives to engage readers.
• Product Roadmap: If applicable, include a product roadmap that outlines future updates, enhancements, or new offerings. This showcases your business's commitment to innovation and continuous improvement.
• Quality and Testing Standards: Discuss the quality standards your business adheres to and any testing processes you conduct to ensure the reliability and performance of your offerings.
• Pricing Strategy: Integrate your pricing strategy into this section. Explain how you've determined the pricing of your products or services, considering factors like production costs, competition, and value to customers.
• Environmental and Social Impact: If your products or services have positive environmental or social implications, highlight them in this section. Increasingly, customers appreciate businesses that contribute positively to society.

The Marketing Strategy Section

Key Information to Include Within the Marketing Strategy Section:

• Marketing Goals and Objectives: Clearly state the marketing goals you aim to achieve. Focus on how you will increase brand awareness and drive customer conversions or leads.
• Target Market Strategy: Describe the specific strategies you will use to reach and engage with your target customers. This could involve digital marketing, traditional advertising, or other channels.
• Pricing Strategy: Explain how your pricing will attract the target market and how it compares to competitors' pricing.
• Promotion and Advertising Plan: Outline the promotional activities and advertising campaigns you plan to execute. Include details about social media marketing, content marketing, email campaigns, and other promotional tactics.
• Sales Strategy: Describe your sales process and how you plan to convert leads into paying customers. Mention any sales team structure and their responsibilities if applicable.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Approach: Discuss how you intend to build and maintain strong relationships with your customers to encourage repeat business and loyalty.

Getting Creative with the Market Strategy Section

• Create a visual marketing timeline.
• Outline influencer or brand ambassador partnerships if applicable.
• Detail key metrics and KPIs.

By infusing creativity and innovative marketing ideas with sound fundamental marketing, you can really make this section stand out and impress potential investors and partners.

The Operation Plan Section

While marketing activities may seem more exciting, operational planning is essential for the success of your gp practice business. This section focuses on the day-to-day operations and internal processes that drive your business forward. By providing a comprehensive roadmap of your resources, workflows, and procedures, you can instill confidence in potential investors that your business is well-equipped for growth.

Here are some key items to include in your operational plan:

• Organisational Structure: Describe the organisational structure of the company, including key roles and responsibilities.
• Key Personnel and Team: Introduce key team members and their qualifications. Highlight how their expertise contributes to the success of the business.
• Operational Workflow and Processes: Provide a high-level step-by-step overview of delivering your product or service, from production to delivery or distribution.
• Resource Requirements: Outline the key resources required to run the business, such as equipment, technology, facilities, and human resources.
• Quality Control and Assurance: Explain how the company ensures the quality and consistency of its products or services, and how it addresses any potential issues.
• Supply Chain Management (if applicable): If the business involves sourcing materials or products from suppliers, describe the supply chain management process.
• Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Discuss any legal or regulatory requirements specific to the industry and how the company ensures compliance.

How to add value to the Operation Plan section:

• Use visuals to outline organisation structures and workflows.
• Outline contingency plans, for example how the company is prepared for supply chain shortages or price shocks.
• Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. Describe how you have driven efficiency gains for the business.
• Have you considered your business's environmental impact? If so, mention within this section.

The operational section of a business plan does have the potential to be dryer than more exciting elements such as marketing, however, by incorporating creative elements and forward-thinking workflows you can help keep reader engagement high.

The Financial Projections

The Financial Projections section can make or break a business plan. Always include well-researched and accurate projections to avoid undermining your business plan and losing out on potential investment. What to include in the financial projections section:

• Sales Forecast: Provide a detailed projection of the company's sales revenues for each product or service category over the forecast period.
• Expense Projections: Outline the expected operating expenses, including costs related to production, marketing, salaries, rent, utilities, and any other significant expenses.
• Profit and Loss (P&L) Statement: Present a comprehensive Profit and Loss statement that summarizes the business's revenue, cost of goods sold (COGS), gross profit, operating expenses, and net profit or loss for each year of the forecast.
• Cash Flow Projection: Include a cash flow statement that outlines the inflows and outflows of cash over the forecast period. This will help identify potential cash flow gaps.
• Break-Even Analysis: Perform a break-even analysis to determine the point at which the business's total revenue equals total costs, indicating when it becomes profitable.

How to add value to your financial projections section:

• Be prepared to defend your assumptions with data. If you are planning for a high-growth % make sure you can justify this assumption. If in doubt the more conservative the better.
• Include visuals that help readers quickly grasp the trends and patterns in revenue, expenses, and profits.
• Offer different scenarios based on varying assumptions. For example, present a conservative, moderate, and aggressive growth scenario.
• Include key financial ratios like gross margin, net profit margin, and return on investment (ROI).

The Funding Request and Use of Funds Section

This section outlines the financial requirements of the company and how the requested funds will be utilised to support its growth and operations.  Providing potential investors or lenders with a clear picture of how their money will be used will improve the business case for the funds and provide further confidence to investors. What to include in this section?

• Funding Request Amount: State the specific amount of funding you are seeking to obtain from investors, lenders, or other sources.
• Use of Funds: Provide a detailed breakdown of how the requested funds will be allocated across different aspects of the business. Common categories include product development, marketing, operational expenses, hiring, equipment, and working capital.
• Timeline of Funds Utilisation: Outline the timeline for utilising the funds. Specify when and how the funds will be disbursed and the expected milestones or deliverables associated with each funding phase.
• Expected Return on Investment (ROI): If applicable, include information on the expected ROI for investors. Highlight the potential for financial gains or equity appreciation over time.
• Repayment Plan (if applicable): If seeking a loan, provide a clear repayment plan that outlines the repayment period, interest rate, and the proposed schedule for repayment.

How to maximise this section?

• Create a visual timeline for key milestones such as the initial investment and key payback periods.
• Outline risk mitigation plans to instil confidence.
• Reiterate the company's long-term vision and how the funds can help achieve these goals.

As you near the end of your gp practice business plan, it is crucial to dedicate a section to outlining potential risks. This section holds immense significance as it can greatly influence the confidence of potential investors. By demonstrating your market awareness and addressing challenges head-on, you can instill trust and credibility.

When conducting a risk analysis for your gp practice car rental business plan, consider including the following:

• Identification of Business Risks: Enumerate the key risks and uncertainties that could affect the business. These risks can be internal (e.g., operational, financial) or external (e.g. market changes, regulatory changes, economic downturns).
• Impact Assessment: Analyse the potential impact of each identified risk on the business's operations, finances, and reputation. Rank the risks based on their severity and likelihood of occurrence.
• Risk Mitigation Strategies: Present specific strategies and action plans to mitigate each identified risk. Explain how you will proactively address challenges and reduce the negative impact of potential risks.
• Contingency Plans: Describe contingency plans for worst-case scenarios, outlining how the business will respond and recover from significant risks if they materialise.

How to make your risk analysis stand out?

• Add context with real-life examples. Are there similar businesses that have dealt with risks successfully in a similar manner to your strategy? This will add credibility to this section.
• Create adaptive strategies that demonstrate your business’s flexibility and adaptability.
• Outlining the responsible person for each risk and how they own it, giving further confidence in your risk management strategies.

Some additional information you may want to include in your business plan for gp practice:

• Customer Surveys and Feedback
• Letters of Support or Intent
• Legal Documents (e.g., licenses, permits)
• Resumes of Key Team Members

A Business Plan For Gp Practice Wrapping It All Up

A business plan is one of the most important documents that you will create about your business. It can literally be the difference between securing additional finance or missing out. Developing your business is not an easy task, however, the opportunity to think about your business in such detail will no doubt help you develop new and important insights along with new ideas and strategies. With all sections of your business plan and especially the financial plan, be prepared to defend your position to potential investors or lenders. This means that you should never publish anything that you can’t back up with additional data or rationale. Business Plans are not created overnight so take the time to research and think about each section properly, always try to support your claims and strategies with market insight and data. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this guide, if you are looking for more tips on creating a business plan check out our learning centre .Good luck with your next business endeavour! Action Planr

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General Practice (GP) Business Plan Template

Download this General Practice (GP) Business Plan Template Design in Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages Format. Easily Editable, Printable, Downloadable.

Are you a general practitioner who’s looking for a business plan to successfully practice your profession? If so, then you are in the right place! We  offer you our General Practice (GP) Business Plan Template and get to practice more efficiently and productively. When you utilize this business template, it will help you achieve your business goals as well as anticipate any issues that may arise along the way. This template comes with a comprehensive suggestive content that you can make use of by just simply replacing highlighted texts with your own details. Save yourself the hassle and get more done by downloading this GP Business Plan template today!

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Comparing Different Options to Legally Set Up Your Behavioral Health Practice

Choosing the right legal structure for your behavioral health practice is crucial for both legal compliance and operational efficiency. Legal structures are not one-size-fits-all—it’s important to consider which structure best aligns with your goals, liability preferences, and financial strategies. When comparing different options to legally set up your practice, you may want to consult a legal advisor for personalized guidance that considers your specific circumstances.

Another important consideration when establishing your behavioral health practice is choosing an electronic health record (EHR). An EHR designed specifically for behavioral health can simplify your practice management, ensuring that your administrative setup supports your clinical objectives. Plus, an EHR can support compliance with health regulations and integrate seamlessly into any legal structure for your private practice.

Understanding Legal Structures

When establishing a behavioral health practice, there are several possible legal structures to consider. Each has its own set of implications for liability, taxation, and operational complexity. Let’s get to comparing different options to legally set up your practice:

Sole Proprietorship:

This is the simplest business entity, with no separation between the business and the owner. It is fast and easy to form and offers complete control, but it comes with unlimited personal liability and tax implications on personal income. Profits and losses are directly included in the owner’s personal tax returns. The main drawback of personal liability is that your personal assets are at risk if your practice incurs debt or legal actions. For solo behavioral health practitioners, a sole proprietorship can be the simplest way to start.

General Partnership (GP):

This structure involves two or more individuals who agree to share all assets, profits, and the legal and financial liabilities of a practice. This model is common in group practices , where multiple professionals share decision-making and responsibility. Tax implications are similar to sole proprietorships, with profits and losses passed through to partners’ personal tax returns. Just like sole proprietorships, general partnerships offer simplicity—the tradeoff is greater exposure to personal liability. However, this structure can also lead to complications if disagreements arise.

Limited Partnership (LP):

Limited partnerships are formed with at least one general partner and one or more limited partners. Limited partners have restricted liability, which is limited to their investment in a practice. The general partners manage the practice and assume liability, while limited partners have minimal control over daily operations. This structure is beneficial for practices that need investment without involving investors in management, making it suitable for practices expanding to include new stakeholders or services.

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP):

An LLP is a flexible legal and tax entity where every partner has a limited personal liability for the debts or claims of the partnership. Partners of an LLP can benefit from economies of scale by working together while also reducing their liability for the actions of other partners. Unlike a general partnership, where all partners share liability for any issues that may arise, an LLP shields partners from personal liability. If the partnership fails, creditors cannot pursue a partner’s personal assets or income. LLPs are common in professional businesses such as law firms, accounting firms, medical practices, and wealth management companies

Limited Liability Company (LLC):

An LLC is a legal entity that combines features of both corporations and partnerships. LLCs protect members from personal liability for business debts. Their personal assets are shielded from lawsuits and creditors related to the company’s business debts. Due to their hybrid structure, LLCs provide legal and financial protections similar to corporations but allow for pass-through taxation, resembling partnerships. In addition, this legal structure allows various member types and offers operational simplicity.

Professional Corporation (PC):

Professional corporations offer owners liability protection against claims not related to professional malpractice. Personal assets are generally protected from claims against the practice. This structure can provide tax benefits, such as the potential to save on self-employment taxes and the possibility of choosing a beneficial tax status with the IRS.

This complexity requires more extensive legal and accounting support. Creating a professional corporation involves more regulatory requirements and administrative upkeep than simpler structures. It must adhere to state-mandated corporate governance standards, including holding regular meetings and keeping detailed records. Despite these complexities, it is a popular choice for established practitioners who want to safeguard their personal assets.

Keep in mind that some states restrict the legal structure options available to behavioral health practices. For example, in California, practices can choose a sole proprietorship or a professional corporation .

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Cost considerations: comparing different options to legally set up your practice.

Setting up and running a private behavioral health practice involves numerous costs, of course. These costs can vary significantly based on the chosen legal structure:

Office space rent and improvements

The cost of renting office space depends on the location, size, and condition of the property. Leasehold improvements, or modifications made to a rental space to suit your practice’s needs, can also be a substantial expense. These costs are generally lower for sole proprietorships and partnerships that might start in smaller or shared spaces.

Furniture and equipment

Essential pieces for creating a welcoming and functional practice environment. This can include anything from standard office furniture to specialized equipment for telehealth appointments to child-friendly spaces, depending on the clientele. A sole proprietor might need less compared to a professional corporation, which might furnish multiple offices.

Computer hardware and software

Investing in reliable technology is crucial for efficient practice management. This includes computers, printers, and specialized software such as EHR systems . Larger entities may require more sophisticated systems to handle increased data and more complex needs.

Licensing, accreditation, and legal fees

Regardless of the legal structure, practitioners need to ensure they are properly licensed and accredited to meet local and professional standards. Setting up a professional corporation costs more than forming a sole proprietorship because of the additional documentation and compliance requirements. Some fees can recur annually and may involve significant initial costs for compliance assessments and professional body memberships.

Marketing and advertising

Effective marketing strategies are critical for attracting new clients. Costs can include digital marketing, traditional advertising, and promotional materials. Larger practices might invest more in comprehensive marketing campaigns compared to smaller or solo practices that might rely on word-of-mouth and local advertising.

Ongoing expenses, training, and development

Crucial for ensuring that all team members are qualified and remain current on best practices in behavioral health. Costs can include training programs , continuing education courses, and any certifications required for the practice’s focus area. Larger practices or those offering a broader range of services may face higher ongoing training costs.

Understanding these costs and how they relate to different legal structures lets you choose a structure that aligns with their business goals and budgetary constraints.

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Choosing the right legal structure for your behavioral health practice is a decision that affects everything from daily operations to long-term sustainability. The structure you use to legally set up your practice is not just a formality—it’s a foundational decision that affects everything from your liability to your taxes and how you can grow. The legal structure you choose will shape your practice’s efficiency and more.

So, as you are comparing different options to legally set up your practice, it’s crucial to leverage tools that align with the specific needs of behavioral health professionals.

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Home  >  Lexacom Insight  >  Business Continuity Planning in Primary Care

Primary Care Business Continuity Planning – an Overview.

One of the lessons from COVID-19 is the need for GP Practices to have robust, workable, and managed primary care business continuity plans.

In this post, we investigate the elements, management, and support of these plans.  

Primary care business continuity planning – why it is Important

A business continuity plan helps ensure that a primary care practice can maintain an acceptable level of service in the face of an incident or disaster and be able to recover to an acceptable level as rapidly as possible.

This is important for GP practices as there is a wide range of potential incidents that could affect their functioning and provision of health and patient care.

The annual ‘flu outbreak is the regular test of capacity and planning for most primary care practices. Therefore, every practice should have a primary care business continuity plan to deal with this.

With such a plan, the practice has a good basis for an overall primary care business continuity plan.  

The next step is to consider other elements. What’s the plan if the practice’s utilities (water, electricity, gas) fail? What about IT functions and support failure? Is the practice in an area that could flood? What happens if the practice’s premises must be temporarily abandoned? Is the practice close to main roads, which means it must provide emergency support for major road accidents? Are the industries in the local area likely to cause a chemical accident? Etc. 

Considering these elements and planning with a primary care business continuity plan will enable a practice to effectively recover and adapt so that it can continue to work.

Legislation regarding NHS business continuity planning

Two pieces of legislation, The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and the Health and Social Care Act (2012) , provide a framework, context, and mandate for business continuity planning in the NHS.

However, these deal with category one responders, which for the NHS means Clinical Care Groups (CCGs) and major hospitals, rather than primary care practices and networks. But that does mean every primary care practice can contact its CCG to find out about the CCG’s business continuity plan and how the practice should be supported by that plan.

What is a primary care business continuity plan?

A primary care business continuity plan is a written document that is shared amongst those responsible for implementing it. It should have a regular review and revision schedule (at least once a year), plus its content and access should be shared with everyone in the practice.

Within this broad description, the main objectives of the plan are to:              

• Detail/list the core information about the practice. Such as staff, their contact details, and contact information for main suppliers and support services.
• Provide a list and prioritisation of the essential services the practice provides for patients and any related support functions.
• List and describe the known risks to the provision of those services, and how those risks can be mitigated/reduced.
• Detail the practice’s action plan for reacting to disruptive incidents. Which should include a list of the first set of actions that staff take, should an incident happen.

How Lexacom can help with primary care business continuity plans

Lexacom’s range of products can help with Primary Care Business Continuity Plans. Be that the practice is out of action, is under increased demand, or facing a staff shortage.

Lexacom Echo , our cloud-based speech recognition software, securely stores data away from the practice and its capability isn’t dependent on being in the practice. As such it supports situations where the practice is not accessible or functioning and prevents loss of data should the practice’s in-house IT services be compromised, disrupted, or destroyed.

Lexacom Connect , our cloud-based digital dictation solution, allows users to dictate and send correspondence from multiple sites while sharing resources across those sites. This allows practices to share the load should there be staff shortages or other issues at one practice, and within their Primary Care Network (PCN)

Lexacom Scribe  is our fast and flexible transcription service that can be used as needed. Ideal for when workloads are excessive, staffing levels are low, or the normal working environment in the practice is disrupted.

If you’d like to find out about any of these products, fill in a   contact form   or call us on 01295 236910

What are the main elements of a primary care business continuity plan?

Within the above description, the business continuity plan needs to cover five core elements:

1. A register of the identified risks and their potential impact on the operations of the practice

The register should include an assessment of both likelihoods of an incident occurring and a measure of severity if it does. For example, a flood, due to a riverbank bursting, may be low, but its impact would be severe. Plus, detail if the impact could be short (upto a month), medium (upto six months), or long term (more than six months) in duration.

2. The planning process and management of the plan

This will cover how the plan elements were determined, how and when the plan is reviewed, who is responsible for those tasks. In addition, the other management tasks needed to keep the plan current, communicated and effective. It should also cover local related risk registers, such as town or county council and the practice’s CCG’s own business continuity plan. This provides a wider context and helps with coordination should the scale of an incident require it.

3. The roles and responsibilities of the practice’s staff

This part names the person responsible for delivering the practice’s business continuity, and their incident management team. This should also cover deputies, in case of absence or incapacity of the main role holders.

4. The communication plan for enacting the business continuity plan

Typically, this is a telephone tree of who calls who. With the aim of each person having to make no more than three to five phone calls to get the plan started and communicated to everyone involved. A backup plan of methods of communicating is also required should phone capabilities not function (both voice and data). This becoming more important as reliance on mobile networks supersedes landlines.

Additionally, this element should include the communication plan for contacting patients, local health service providers and stakeholders such as NHS England or Scotland and the practice’s CCG.

  5. Testing and training of the plan

This last part is vital, in the same way as regular fire alarm test drills are important. By testing and training, the plan becomes effective as those involved have experience of what to do. Plus, issues, problems, and failings of the plan are highlighted before they can have a critical real-life impact.

Other areas to consider in primary care business continuity plans

While not an exhaustive list, best practice for a primary care business continuity plan is to include these items:

• Collaboration and sharing of plans with neighbouring businesses (especially if in a shared building), other local practices and healthcare services, plus local government, and emergency services.
• A work-from-home plan if many staff cannot come to work at the practice – both understaffing and physically can’t get to the practice.
• IT systems disruption. Both accidental and intentional, such as cyberattacks.
• Practice premise is unusable for a major time (e.g., two weeks or more)
• Paper records being destroyed or damaged.
• Supplier failure for essential goods or services, with key information such as account numbers, contract details, contact names, and numbers.
• A system to make sure the business continuity plan is available, on and off-site, 24/7.

NHS business continuity planning resources

Given the importance of a practice having a primary care business continuity plan, there are templated resources and guidance articles from the NHS on the web.

Additionally, practices should contact their CCG or local healthcare community as many have developed their own business continuity plan templates.

Some helpful links;

NHS England business continuity plan template

Glasgow LMC business continuity plan template

Online example of primary care business continuity plan

Examples of primary care business continuity plans can be found through web searches. One impressive example is published by the Dover-based Buckland Medical Practice .

A read of this plan shows that it covers all the above points, and of course, by being on the practice’s website, is easily available 24/7 should it need to be implemented.

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2024 IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix - Start time, TV schedule and more

The 2024 IndyCar Series returns this weekend (Friday May 31st to Sunday June 2nd) for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix .

The season's sixth race comes just one week after the Indy 500, which saw Team Penske's Josef Newgarden win the showpiece event for the second year in a row.

As for the IndyCar driver's standings after round five, defending champion Alex Palou leads the way with 183 points, twenty ahead of New Zealand veteran Scott Dixon who is in second.

This weekend, we head to Michigan for the Detroit Grand Prix, and here is what the next few days have in store for IndyCar fans.

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Schedule of events

Friday, May 31st IndyCar Practice - 1:50pm ET (11:50am PT) IMSA Qualifying - GTD Pro - 4:40pm ET (2:40pm PT) IMSA Qualifying - GTP - 5:05pm ET (3:05pm PT) Saturday, June 1st Indy NXT qualifying - 11:20am ET (9:20am PT) IndyCar Qualifying - 12:15pm ET (10:15am PT) IMSA race - 3:10pm ET (1:10pm PT) Sunday, June 2nd Indy NXT race - 10:30am ET (8:30am PT) IndyCar race - 12:30pm ET (10:30am PT)

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For both practice sessions, qualifying and Sunday's race, US fans can watch online at Indycarlive.com , on Peacock TV, or listen to the session on SiriusXM IndyCar Nation and IndyCar Radio.

Meanwhile, USA Network will be broadcasting the race only, with coverage starting from 12:00pm ET (10:00am PT).

What happened last race?

Following several early crashes, the race ultimately came down to a final lap showdown between Newgarden and McLaren star, Pato O'Ward.

Entering the last lap right behind O'Ward, Newgarden timed his move to perfection, sling-shotting his way past the Mexican to take a famous win - while 2008 winner Scott Dixon came home in third place.

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