This document provides guidance on setting up a private family practice. It outlines key planning considerations including initial investment needs, scope of services, equipment requirements, financing, business structure, marketing, and ongoing management. Maintaining a passion for family medicine through planning, patience, and perseverance are emphasized as essential to surviving the challenges of private practice.

1. Setting up Private Practice

2. Presentation outline
 Essence of General Practice
 Choosing Family practice - Concerns of Family Medicine
graduates
 Setting up practice – Essential Planning considerations
 Scope of Family practice & emerging models

3. Concerns towards setting up Practice(1/2)
 Initial Investment , Business & financial insecurity
 Working in Isolation , Limited resources, Limited access to
technology.
 Public perception is poor- equating Family Physician with
poorly/less qualified doctors
 GPs compete with specialists, complementary practitioners,
cyberdocs, and all sorts of healers.

4.  More practice oriented, less academic exposure.
Updating knowledge requires more effort than hospital
based specialist
 Lesser monitary benefit compared to other
specialties/subspecialties
 Increasing accountability First contact doctors- exposed
to fears, concerns, anger of patients and families
Concerns towards setting up Practice(2/2)

5. No quality time for self and Family
No carrier growth, not rewarding, No sense
of accomplishment
Lack of glamour
Concerns towards setting up own
Practice(3/3)

6. When to start your own clinic
Are you ‘Practice Ready’ ?

7. Is private practice right for you?
Pros
• Personal challenge & opportunity
• Freedom from 9-5 routine
• Independence & autonomy – Being your own boss
• Flexible working hours & flexible work location
Cons
• Self financing and sustaining the break even period
• Business & financial insecurity
• On going business administration
• Impact on work/life balance
Elements you may wish to
consider
Some reasons are better than others : None are wrong

8. PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS
Practical plan with solid foundation
Defining the scope of your practice
Arranging finance
Setting up the practice structure
Buying the right equipments
Marketing your practice.
Setting up practice is no less than starting a business

9. 9
The vision: how you believe it will
develop
• How and when you are going to start the business
• Services and benefits to clients
• Why clients will choose you and why your service is different
• Provide business aims and show what you want to achieve
- where do you want to be in 1 year?
- where do you want to be in 3-5 years?
- create aims that are measurable to allow later comparison
Start small but cater for expansion

10. MANAGING FINANCE

11. RAISING FINANCE
• Identify your start up costs – what are they? how much?
how will you fund them?
• Create a Personal Financial Forecast – expected costs to
cover living expenses
• Create a Business Financial Forecast – expected
income/expenditure & cash-flow
Options for raising funding are:
• Use your own money
• Borrow from a bank
• Non-bank borrowing (eg friends and family,
outside investor)

12. BUY OR LEASE?
Buy
This option allows you more control over the use and
development of the premises however it requires
available capital.
Lease
Often the most financially viable option.
Main considerations:
• Is the rent reviewed; is it all inclusive or are there
hidden charges?
• How long do you want to commit to the lease?
• Can you leave your lease early / can you renew your
lease?
Choosing the wrong property can be costly

13. WHICH PREMISES?
Elements to consider when looking for premises.
• Location/ Target population/ Paying Capacity
This will have an impact on the type of practice
you develop
• Space?
space costs – what do you really need?
350 sq ft ideal for a small solo clinic
Choosing the wrong premises can be a
costly mistake.

14. EQUIPMENT NEEDS
Equipment needs vary depending on your scope of practice.
Although purchasing the full range of equipment is
tempting, it is also very expensive. It is therefore important
to ask yourself:
• Do I really need this piece of equipment?
• How often will I use it?
• Will it improve the level of service I can offer clients
and thereby allow me to increase the level of fees
commanded?

15. Permissions/Licences
 General licence from Muncipal corporation
 Bio medical waste management Certificate
 KPME Licence
 Pharmacy licence
17

16. RUNNING YOUR BUISNESS

17.  Adequate trained staff
 Appointment system/ walk in patients
 Patient registration system / EMR
 3 ‘A’s - Availability, Accessability , Attitude
RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS

18. Providing more patient visits
Practicing the full scope of family medicine
Providing services in-house clinical lab, physical
therapy, Pharmacy etc
Participating in quality improvement, marketing,
strategic planning and benchmarking
RUNNING YOUR BUISNESS
Factors that have an association with High Earning

19. WHY YOU NEED MARKETING
Marketing will play a key role in the success of
your business.
Developing a marketing strategy enables you to:
• Identify potential clients
• Understand & meet client needs
• Communicate the benefit of your services
• Identify and address business strengths &
weaknesses
Always remember your practice is a service oriented business

21. NETWORKING
• Create a network of professional contacts who
have the potential to provide you with referrals
like local GP practice, physiotherapists,
Pharmacists who practice locally.
• Establish rapport with local private practice
group.
• Keep in touch with fellow graduates – they may
be in a similar situation. Business support can
also be provided by local business networks.
Working as a sole practitioner can be isolating

22. Annual Performance Chart
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
2014 2015 2016
1st quarter
2nd Quqrter
3rd Quqrter
4th Quqrter
ANALYSE YOUR PROGRESS

23. Should you expand?
 Once your practice is established you may
want to consider growing your business
 If you regularly monitor your business
performance, you will recognise the point
when expansion may be a consideration
 It must be done at the right time for you, and
based on the strengths of your business.

24. MENTOR
• Why a mentor?
have someone experienced to help guide you
and they can have a positive impact on both you
and your business.
• Who can be a mentor?
A mentor can be someone you know within
your profession who has already established a
private practice. It could also be friends or
family members who have small business
experience.
.
LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE OF OTHERS

25.  4 ‘P’s – Passion, Planning, Patience & perseverance
 Enthusiasm - Confidence - Determination
 Clear ethical values
 Being clear about our mission
 Accept limitations
 Learning & Constantly trying to improve
 Basing what we do on evidence
What will survive as the world
changes completely
Social work and Charity : Earn goodwill

26. Models of Family Practice
 Solo GP clinic
 Group Practice
 Integrated practice
 Campus clinics
 Assisted living facilities
 Home health Care
 Corporate health care
 Insurance panel

27. Scope of Family Practice
 General Practice
 Palliative care
 Chronic Health Care clinics
 School health
 Occupational Health
 Immunization
 Geriatric health care

28. Geriatric Health Care sector

36. Passion - Planning – Patience- Enthusiasm -
Determination – Confidence - Attitude
Setting up private practice and beginning your
own business can be an exciting and fulfilling
journey. There are many factors to consider and
hopefully this Route Map will have highlighted
some of the main elements required when you
start up in business.
Good Luck

37. 18/04/2009 155 Base Hospital
Thank You
Thank you