From starting a solo practice to creating a hospital-owned clinic, opening a healthcare practice is a significant undertaking. After selecting the right type of medical practice, healthcare professionals need to create business plans, review financing options, choose the right location, staff the medical office, and create administrative systems. Those tasks are just the big picture, but each one easily carries a myriad of finite details.
That’s not to say that opening a new medical facility is an impossible feat. A variety of new healthcare centers are opening all the time. But the amount of work and strategy required typically involves more than a sole physician or medical group. Medical professionals who are interested in opening a new medical facility should gather the right team to support them throughout the process.
Financing Professionals
One source suggests that medical professionals who desire to start new practices should obtain about $100,000 for startup costs and equipment and $100,000 as a line of credit until the medical office gains capital. And due to the nature of medical billing and the time it takes for insurance companies to process payments, it could take a while before the medical group incurs a steady cash flow. Medical groups will likely need to secure financing options on the front end, typically through banks and investors.
Healthcare Real Estate Professionals
Healthcare real estate advisors typically assist with site selection, market research, lease negotiations, or other transactional details. These are all important details that come with the physical real estate side of opening a new practice. They lighten the weighty task of real estate contracts and allow the healthcare professional to focus on the medical needs of their practice.
Hiring a healthcare real estate professional is also a key step in building the rest of the team. Healthcare real estate professionals not only take care of the details surrounding a building or property, but also have industry contacts. Their experience in the industry has given them a lengthy list of resources like financing partners, contractors, property managers, etc.
Landlords
In some cases, medical professionals will choose to lease a space rather than build one from the ground up. If they plan to lease their facility, they will need to choose the right type of building in the right location with a landlord that can work with them. Many times, spaces do not come with the exact buildout that a medical tenant would need. In that case, the tenant must work with the landlord to determine the type of buildout (tenant buildout or turnkey buildout). The landlord-tenant relationship is an important, long-term relationship for many medical groups. So they will want to make sure they choose landlords that they can work with for years to come.
Contractors
As mentioned above, the internal structure of a facility may need to change before it is functional for a medical practice. Healthcare professionals will often need to make sure their hired contractor is familiar with the unique structural needs of a healthcare practice. Each medical group will have varying equipment or layout needs. Some will require lead lining within the floors and walls. Some will require large flex spaces. Contractors with experience in healthcare real estate should understand these specialized requirements and be able to accommodate the requests.
Lawyers
Healthcare professionals are aware of just how many legal requirements come with running a medical practice. From healthcare real estate legislation to the legality of treating patients, lawyers are good representatives to partner with. They are helpful resources for answering basic questions on any number of legal issues, including final contracts.
HBRE is a full-service medical real estate team. We know how important it is to have a good team in place when opening a medical practice. Our team has worked with many medical professionals and health systems as they open new facilities. If medical professionals have any questions about how to open their next healthcare facility, they can trust HBRE to guide them through the process.
If you are interested in learning more about investing in commercial real estate, or if you have questions about buying, selling, or leasing a commercial property, please contact an HBRE advisor. Our team of experienced CRE professionals have the skills and insight to assist with all property transactions. To reach out to us directly, email [email protected] or call 615-564-4133.
