Healthcare Startup Guide

Building a Healthcare Startup can be complex at the best of times. We have developed comprehensive guides, resources, and tools to help you get started.
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Healthcare startup guide

The Healthcare Startup you and your clients will love

Clinical appointment scheduling

Online Scheduling

Take control of your schedule and calendar from your desktop or mobile app. Use automated appointment reminders and our fully integrated video calling tool to maximize your productivity.
Clinical Notes and Clinical Documentation

Health Records

Store all your patient information, clinical notes, and documentation safely in your secure clinic system. We autosave, so you'll never lose work again.
Clinical billing and Clinical online payments

Accept Payments Online

Carepatron online or mobile payments make it easier for your clients to pay for your bills.  You save time a massive amount of time while getting paid twice as fast. What a great way to improve your day and cashflow!
healthcare startup team meeting

Introduction

Stepping into the world of healthcare startups can be a daunting experience, especially with the vast number of organizations out there. However, it’s important that you don’t let this dissuade you, as healthcare is an incredibly intuitive and expansive industry that can always benefit from new entrants. This is especially the case for passionate healthcare practitioners, who genuinely care about prioritizing the health outcomes of their patients. With our guide, you can learn how to effectively be your own boss, and implement streamlined processes such as predictive modeling and data warehouses to ensure that you’re on top of your game, and are successful in your endeavors.

Skills needed to start a healthcare practice

While virtually any healthcare practitioner can get started with their own business in the healthcare industry, there are certain skills and experience that will increase your likelihood of success. Certain individuals do have a stronger disposition to attract more clients, and achieve high-quality clinical outcomes, with these practitioners having direct relation to the services they provide. This involves completing advanced degrees with the appropriate evidence-based experience and expertise, which can take years to accumulate and achieve. Those who have passed national standards under board-certified exams are more likely to have success in healthcare due to higher reputability and credibility to their name, and often work well as both clinicians and managers. Whilst anyone can be a leader, and many valued traits can be learned and expanded upon with time and experience, those who are particularly successful are heavily involved in healthcare themselves, with full practice authority. This means that such individuals are able to evaluate, assess, and diagnose patients with full confidence, as well as run diagnostic treatments and prescribe medication. Having these responsibilities provides you with a huge step-up in terms of medical startups, as you’re able to run business operations whilst having direct insight into healthcare and how patient experiences should work. It allows for easier and more transparent communication and ensures that every little detail can be better understood when it comes to decision-making and business direction.
Skills needed to start a healthcare practice

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How to succeed as a healthcare startup

How to succeed as a healthcare startup

With the rapidly changing healthcare landscape and the growing demand for technology, it’s not surprising to see more and more practitioners considering starting their own businesses. Being your own boss is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have, as it allows you complete control over your healthcare experience, and enables you to prioritize patient health how you want to.
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Why should a healthcare business need a solid business plan

Why should a healthcare business need a solid business plan

Starting a healthcare business practice can be a bit of a tricky thing, as there are a lot of aspects involved in its operations. Without a business plan, it can get complicated very quickly, so to avoid becoming entrapped in the common pitfalls of healthcare, it’s best to plan out every process and procedure. Making a plan is essential, and quite simply, is part of healthcare startup 101.
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Regulatory compliance requirements for a healthcare startup

Healthcare deals with highly personal information and data on a daily basis, and so it is of utmost importance that you prioritize regulatory compliance to reduce the risk of security breaches. You must understand why healthcare data security solutions are important, and part of this process is evaluating the following standards. 

HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is infamous in the healthcare industry, and if you haven’t heard of it yet, you certainly will as you delve into operations. This regulation ensures that all healthcare data is protected, and requires that all electronic exchanges, transfers, creations, and storage follow specific guidelines to ensure privacy and security at every step of business operations. Failure to comply with HIPAA regulations can involve costly repercussions, with fines anywhere from $50,000 to $1.5 million per year. Not only this, but HIPAA breaches can result in serious blows to your reputation, which is best avoided. 

PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard ensures that all financial data is protected in regard to payments and credit card information. Considering that healthcare deals with high expenses, which often have to be made online, you must understand this policy to properly store, process, and exchange card information. 

FFDCA
The final most important regulation is the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act which regulates medical device use. Essentially, if your software or hardware manages any aspects concerning health, wellness, treatment and diagnosis, then you need to apply for certification to ensure you have appropriate use.
HIPAA healthcare software

Funding sources for your healthcare practice

Depending on the size of your business and the resources needed, funding can be one of the most important aspects of every top health startup. You want to make sure you’re able to make the right investments to improve the quality of care of your patients, and sometimes funding is one of the only viable ways to quickly expand and grow. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to receive funding when it comes to your healthcare practice. 

Small Business Administration (SBA) loans
These are a great way to encourage loans within banks, and qualifying is often stress-free. While proof of income is required, SBA loans can be relatively quick to process. 

Traditional lenders like banks
When thinking about funding sources, one of the most common tried and true methods that likely come to mind is traditional lenders such as bank institutions. These can be somewhat of a lengthy process, with a clear business plan and documented income needed, however, they are future-proofing for the long-term with larger investments being offered. 

Alternative lenders
Alternative lenders are great for offering money quickly, although these amounts are usually much smaller. To qualify, a borrower may only need a few months worth of bank statements, with verifiable income. 

Self-funding
Self-funding is a good way of avoiding loans and allows you to get started on your business right away. Ideal for older individuals who have higher savings, self-funding allows you to have full control over your business. However, it may take some time to build up the funds and can mean taking risks with using personal income. 

Crowd-funding
Crowd-funding is a great way to attract outside investors, with a broad range of interests, to help you build your brand and create a solid community. Crowd-funding is highly beneficial, however, you must be certain in your business plans and marketing pitches to get investors on board. 

Venture capital
Venture capitalist firms are great in injecting large amounts of money into your practice and sourcing valuable talent and skill to quickly strengthen your company. However, you must prove high financial returns on their investment, and be centered on fast growth. 
Healthcare startup clinic
Tips for healthcare startup

Tips to succeed as a healthcare startup

While there is no one right way to run a healthcare startup, there are certainly leading tips and tricks that can boost the quality of your practice and set you up for success. With the top health startups implementing these considerations, it’s important to take them into account to avoid common startup challenges and pitfalls. 

Network
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know that matters. For the healthcare industry, this is entirely true, as having the right connections enables you to gain unprecedented insight into what contributes to success and how you could optimize your operations. Try to shake off the mindset that fellow healthcare companies are your competitors, and instead, maintain contact, and learn from their experience and expertise. 

Utilize technologies to lower costs
With the rapid growth of technology, especially following Covid times, using technology is one of the greatest business assets you could consider implementing. Technology can significantly smoothen and streamline business tasks, and reduce the time it takes to carry out many of your operations through automated features. There are various systems at several price points that can work towards decreasing overhead costs, and increasing your cash flow to add business value elsewhere. 

Understand your healthcare and social responsibilities
Healthcare is inherently intertwined with social responsibility and your overall public duty to how health services operate and are delivered. You need to consider this in every step of your operations, including potentially partnering with NGOs, and assisting government research. 

Use digitized marketing strategies
Marketing strategies for healthcare practices are essential in putting yourself out there and engaging with clients. It’s a great way to establish an online presence and brand, and attract clients whilst increasing your retention rate. 

Understand and overcome your challenges
Inevitably, all healthcare businesses, even the best medical startups, face challenges that crop up in the most unexpected of places. However, it’s important that you approach these obstacles with an adaptable mindset, and spend time working on and developing a business plan that can help prepare you for whatever comes your way.

Take home message

Diving into the healthcare industry can be intimidating, however, starting your own health business is one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll ever encounter. You’re in complete control of your healthcare career, and with an abundance of systems and resources out there, you’re in good hands when it comes to prioritizing patient health. With the intense growth of the healthcare industry, there are plenty of opportunities to go around for you to hit the ground running and achieve immense success. 

Further reading:
Tips For Breaking Into The Business Of Health Care
How to Build a Medical Startup: A Useful Resource Guide

Healthcare start up team

Trusted by healthcare startups

Carepatron’s appointment reminder software is currently being used by 10,000+ healthcare professionals with great success. These businesses have seen various improvements, including highly efficient workflows, reductions in no-shows, and better communication with patients. However, there’s no need to just take our word for it.

Counselor
“I have used this appointment reminder software for the last six months and have found it a game-changer. Previously I had an issue with clients not turning up for appointments or arriving late. Since adopting this healthcare workspace, my no-shows have dropped by 90%. I have found the onboarding and support to be first class. Anytime I have an issue, I have been able to message Jamie Frew, who has been fantastic. Thank you for everything, Carepatron!”
Nish A.
Counselor
Psychologist
“Carepatron is truly a lifesaver. As a Psychologist, I want to focus on providing clinical treatment and service, not managing my practice or medical billing. I love how the tool reflects the way clinicians work rather than another hard-to-use PMS. I use all of the key tools including, clinical notes, appointment scheduling, healthcare billing, appointment reminders, and so much more. I have created psychological assessments and questionnaires within the template library, which has helped me to streamline my work and ensure I am following best practices.  I love how the system integrates with my google calendar and stripe for billing and invoicing. If you want to streamline your practice, this software is 100% is for you.”
Aegeus R.
Psychologist
Therapist
“I have finally find the best practice management system for me, and it just keeps getting better. Carepatron is an all-one practice solution for small therapy practices - it's easy to use, HIPAA compliant, and brings all of your electronic health records together with appointment scheduling, medical billing, and payment tools. As a busy Therapist and small therapy practice administrator, this software has been simple to learn, quick to upload client data, and comes at a great price. Our team also uses appointment reminders for every session. The patient portal has helped us to deliver more virtual services during lockdowns. The paperless client intake capability has helped us remove administration while ensuring we always have the consent documentation to stay compliant.”
Huong N.
Therapist
Nurse Practitioner
“I would recommend Carepatron to any healthcare practitioner who wants a better way to manage client appointments, optimize their clinical workflow and automate their appointment reminders. I find this software very intuitive to navigate and use. We imported our clients quickly, customize appointment reminders, and added our logo to invoices for a low cost. The support team is exceptional; I can chat directly with the CEO, which is an incredible experience. Our clients enjoy the patient portal. They can now book, reschedule or cancel appointments conveniently.”
Crystal I.
Nurse Practitioner

Healthcare startup blogs

Carepatron creates a foundation for your team and clients to thrive, putting your entire workflow on autopilot, sending everything from reminder SMS to emails, so you can focus on the clinical work only you can do. It's like getting an assistant, even if you're a health business of one.
Telehealth being used
Mar 19, 2024
Telehealth being used
Mar 18, 2024