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5 Ways a Business Loan Can Help You Grow Your Medical Practice
Increasing demand for better experiences and technology is shaping the future of healthcare. As the owner of a medical practice, you must look for opportunities to optimize your day-to-day operations. A medical clinic business is associated with high costs for equipment and materials. That’s why you should be looking for the right business loan to stabilize and grow.
The Cost of Operating a Medical Practice
Owning a private medical practice can be lucrative, especially for specialist treatments. That’s because healthcare is an essential service predominantly financed by the patients’ insurance providers. However, some risks come with the potential for high bills that can fall behind.
To open the practice, you will need to recruit, hire, train, and pay staff. These expenses go far beyond payroll. The team you build directly affects the quality of care provided to patients.
Perhaps the biggest expense is the advanced medical equipment required. Office expenses like setting up an IT network may also be required. The healthcare industry is a prime target for cyberattacks, so cybersecurity should also be factored into operating expenses.
Plus, due to the high-risk nature of healthcare, you will need to have insurance policies. Even with leased equipment and shared services, it can cost $70,000 to $100,000 to open a medical practice.
You should also take into account the marketing budget required to get patients in the door. When it’s all added up, the total cost of running a medical practice can be upwards of six figures or more, depending on the specialty or region.
Loans for Medical Practices
The good news is there are plenty of business loan options available for medical practices. Doctors are generally viewed as creditworthy borrowers. The commitment to completing medical school to become a doctor already demonstrates dedication. Plus, banks and other lenders recognize that the healthcare industry is both a lucrative and stable investment. While a downturn in the economy can severely hurt hospitality, healthcare will always be an essential part of society.
Common business funding options for medical practices include:
Small Business Loans
An SBA loan is a government-backed program that provides funding for small businesses.
Traditional Bank Loans
Since doctors tend to be creditworthy, many financial institutions have loans tailored toward medical businesses.
Alternative Lending
When traditional lending is not an option, alternative lenders may be able to provide funding.
Business Line of Credit
A traditional funding source through a bank or credit union that offers a revolving line of credit for working capital or other needs.
Equipment Loans
A type of structured loan that can help a medical practice finance medical equipment procurement, such as digital imaging machines or lab equipment.
Financing your Medical Practice Growth
If you already have a profitable medical practice, you can still utilize a business loan. Grow your medical practice to ensure its long-term success in the competitive American healthcare industry.
Here are five ways to grow your medical practice with a business loan:
1. Technology
The average medical practice loses up to one-third of its revenue in billing errors. The right administrative technology can help you recover any losses by filing with insurance providers and following up with clients on open balances, without the need for a large office staff payroll. While technology can ease the administrative burden, that’s not the only place you should be investing.
If you want to grow your medical practice in 2022, take a look at tech-enablement first. Are you providing remote healthcare or telemedicine? And, if so, is technology working for you? Identify how your medical practice can better use technology to scale medical services.
A business loan can be a quick way to upgrade your medical practice and improve efficiency while providing better care.
2. Marketing
77% of people use the internet to look for a healthcare provider. That means that more than three-quarters of all prospective patients will find your medical practice online. How much are you spending on digital marketing? Consider investing in social media to communicate with new and current patients.
More than 70,000 healthcare-related searches are performed every minute. Take advantage and show up in Google search results. From exposure and awareness to getting new clients in the door, your marketing plan needs to be refreshed. Revamp your website, invest in content creation and run paid ad campaigns.
The average personalized business website with custom features can cost upwards of $10k. Use a business loan to approach your marketing strategy the right way by hiring a graphic designer and web developer.
3. Invest in Your Team
As a healthcare provider, your reputation is based on your expertise and quality of care. Clients are always looking for the best care. Recruiting, training, and retaining top talent is essential for maintaining your good reputation in the community.
Use a business loan to invest in recruiting services and offer lucrative employee benefits to attract the right talent for your medical practice team.
4. Expand Your Reach
Many costs associated with your medical practice are operational. If your medical practice is ready to grow, you will need funding to expand your reach through new locations or services.
This means targeting a new demographic of customers or offering new services. For example, if you currently run a women’s health practice that focuses on obstetrics and gynecology, consider adding a mental health professional or a dietician to help address other healthcare needs of female patients.
Use a business loan to purchase additional equipment or add additional square footage to expand your operation with new services.
5. Appearance
State-of-the-art medical facilities are freshly renovated with granite floors and in-lobby water features. It’s because they know appearances matter.
When you provide a comfortable physical environment, you put your patients at ease. While they may not make the direct connection to the high-end appearance of your medical practice, it does give the perception of quality that adds to the overall experience.
Use a business loan to remodel your practice with a focus on easy-to-clean surfaces with an elegant feel. Consider adding high-end fixtures and furniture to make clients feel comfortable when they come for their appointment.
Whether your practice is new or looking to grow, a business loan can provide much-needed capital to make an impactful change. There are a variety of funding sources, but alternative lending often provides the most flexibility to quickly receive funds for marketing, renovations, equipment, technology and more. As healthcare becomes more consumer-focused, medical practices will need to spend more money on these details.
QuickBridge lets you apply for a business loan online in minutes. A Funding Specialist will contact you to tailor the right business loan terms for your medical practice. You will then receive the funds you need in as little as one business day1.
Contact QuickBridge today to learn more about the business loan options for your medical practice.
