Creating a new practice without the appropriate level of insurance can cost you tens of thousands more than the price of coverage. Even with the best processes and guidelines in place, unforeseen circumstances often arise without warning.

Consider taking out, or levelling up too, the most suitable kind of medical indemnity insurance to cover things like theft, financial loss or property damage. You’re giving assurance for your business and confidence to your staff. Research and assess the pros and cons of each insurance provider and policy – like every contract, you’ll have to consider the fine print carefully, and compare what each policy covers with regards to public liability, business property insurance, workers compensation, and more.

Every specialist must be a registered Medicare provider. Medicare rebates allow your patients to partially claim back on the services you provide and charge to them – your provider number enables this to happen.

However, certain services don’t fall under the scheme, so patients without private health insurance must pay the full cost. As you take the next steps, it’s crucial to explore the differences in private and public care – especially, how much is covered by rebates and how your potential patients may fare with increased prices.

An Australian Business Number (ABN) is a requirement as your practice will be charging fees for its services.

When invoicing your patients, your ABN must be included as part of any invoice. The process to apply for an ABN is both free and simple to complete through the Australian Business Registrar.

Doctors have several choices when it comes to setting up a business: you can register as a Sole Trader, a Company or a Partnership, or a Company Trust structure. Understanding the sort of company you are looking to build goes a long way in understanding what the right structure is for your set up.

The most common business structures include:

Sole Trader

A Sole Trader model is the easiest to set up, however, it offers little protection from a business operational perspective.

Company Structure

If you decide to use a Company Structure, for example, ‘Your Name Pty Limited’, you will have more flexibility and protection from a business and tax perspective as it’s easier to:

• Bring in other business partners
• Set up and distribute shares easily
• Accelerate growth 

Company and Trust Structure

Depending on your income and personal situation, a Company and Trust structure may be the best choice; offering you more income and business-level protection, as well as tax advantages. Discretionary Family Trusts are the most common small business structure in Australia and are a key strategy for many business owners wanting to legitimately minimize their tax positions and protect their wealth. However, setting up a Trust Structure can be complex and there are many regulations and compliance issues to consider.

Seeking professional advice is your best course of action, whichever business structure you choose. As a clinician or as a director, your responsibilities remain to provide quality patient care.

Once you’ve decided your business structure, the next step is selecting the name that your practice will trade under. Be selective in the name you choose as it will represent and inform the branding of your clinic. Ensure to check its availability through the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s1 website. If the name doesn’t appear in the search, it’s available for you to purchase for either an annual or three-year fee.

Building an authoritative and helpful digital presence is a priority for your new practice; after all, today’s generation of patients are increasingly leveraging the internet to inform their health decisions.

Your first step is registering a domain name, which secures a web address where your future website will exist. Furthermore, you’ll need to confirm your local business1 information with Google, so patients can easily find your practice, and link your social profiles to your website.

Selecting which social media platforms are appropriate for engaging your patients will be determined by your typical patient demographic and where they spend their time online. Twitter is great for rapid conversation, Facebook is good for building trust through ongoing engagement, and Linkedin is a space where you and your professional company profile can stand out. Whatever social platforms you choose, focusing your efforts is crucial as sustaining a reputable digital presence will require continual maintenance. Honing on one or two platforms is your best choice for standing out.

Tax obligations for medical practices can be extremely complex. Finding an accountant with medical experience is vital as they can help you navigate your tax obligations.

They can advise what you need to do and how it needs to be done, saving you valuable time and energy. No doubt, complex tax situations will emerge. As an example, although your MBS item numbers are not subject to GST, you are very likely to be paying GST through your suppliers and are eligible to claim it back; another example is a self-managed super fund as it is a great, tax-effective way of owning your own consult rooms.

Like your tax requirements, your legal obligations are a high priority. Hire a lawyer with experience in helping other private practitioners, to help draw up legal contracts for staff and other service providers.

The initial expense may be high, however, it’s well worth the investment. Bringing a legal expert into your business planning early can alleviate problems that could damage both your financial outcomes and professional reputation in the long term.

The location of your business should focus on your ideal patients and their demographics.

Many key considerations centre around convenience and accessibility: easy access to public transport, parking spaces for patients with poor mobility, or close proximity to complementary health care services like radiology or pathology labs. Furthermore, the amount of foot traffic will affect your visibility within the community; this is a potential influencer for getting patients through the door.

An EFTPOS system will allow customers to easily make payments, however you should select a payment platform that works with your business, and integrates well with your software.

At Clinic to Cloud, we recommend Tyro as our preferred payment partner. Tyro integrates with our software to ensure a seamless set up with your business.

Tyro offers extras claiming cover, which helps to minimise risk of incorrect payments being processed, the integration with Clinic to Cloud speeds up payments to relieve support staff if you have a high volume of patients.

One of the most challenging parts of running your own business is ensuring you have the right team around you.

We’ve all heard the phrase that “people are the most important part of your business”. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, argues that it’s not “the people”, but “the right people”. The right team equips your practice to thrive and enhance your patients’ experience — so there’s a lot riding on the hiring process.

Strive to hire people who understand you and your business. Starting the hiring process early, allowing time for multiple interviews where necessary, and seeking advice from trusted references, are all valuable ways of ensuring you bring on the people best positioned to champion your growth.