I am a NP in Georgia and am working toward opening my own practice in the next couple of months. I am writing to see if anyone contributing to these forums is or will soon be a business owner as I would like to set up a forum so we can share ideas and network. Maybe we could develop our own forum or newsletter.

Sincerely,

Troy Heidesch

Troy:  Good luck to you.  I had a grand opening two weeks ago for Humanistic Healthcare, LLC in Anchorage, AK.  One thing I have learned is that if the word medical is associated with it, it starts at $5000.00,  There are now about 6 NP owned clinics in Anchorage.  I hope you have plenty of $$ because it is amazing how much it costs to open your doors.  Make OSHA your friend by asking for a consult before you open.  Shop around for equipment because the same thing can cost several hundred or thousand dollars differance.  I bought a lot of my Welch Allyn stuff from Allheart.  My costs for electronic health records (hardware and software) has been in the $30K range.  If you go that direction make sure that you get quotes for all of the software you will need and that one software can talk to or interface with another.  Have a good IT person available. 

Karen Decker-Brown

Hi Troy,

I am in my 11th month since opening my clinic.  There are a lot of things I would do different.  The main one was to start advertising months before I opened.   The other one was to shop a round for less expensive liability coverage.

sincerely,

Jay Fotland

Troy,

I am a NP in NC and have been considering my own practice also.  It sounds like you are way ahead of me.  What nitch or patient demographic do you plan on serving?

Mike Heilman

Hey Karen, Thank you for your post. It seems like I have been out of town since my last post (vacation and holidays). I am planning on cash flowing my office so everything will be on the cheap. I am going to start a house call practice to begin with and when I have enough patients and cash I will then rent an office (I hope within 12 months with adequate marketing).

Hey Jay, are you using a marketing agency or simply buying advertising?

Troy

Hey Mike,

I am looking to serve specifically the middle class uninsured (contractors, farmers, young to middle-aged professionals). I do not want to deal with insurance companies or managed care any longer as well as pay the extra staff needed to deal with them. I figure I can cut my rate a little, provide them a service and still make more money.

Troy

Hi Troy,

I opened my office August 2006 in WA State. Since because of the need to speak with others who have done the same (as well as answer the questions being asked), I started a blog about being in business. Lots of NPs share their experiences and answer questions for one another as well. We've just started interviewing NPs who are business owners as well.

Hi Troy;

I too am opening my own clinic. It is challenging but I am secure knowing I am learning a lot about business and negotiating! I've just joined this website forum so probably by now your clinic is up and running. I'd love to know how things are going and what you have to share with someone going through similar experiences in your neighbor to the north.

Leslie McDowell