The modern medical care industry is a truly vast one, and it takes many different forms. While a patient in serious condition will need to visit the ER, most patients today get their minor medical problems taken care of at urgent care centers instead. The concept of urgent care centers goes back to the year 2000, and this field has expanded rapidly. So, an entrepreneur may decide to launch a brand new urgent care center, but urgent care start up costs are a factor to think about well ahead of time. Fortunately, an entrepreneur can figure out an urgent care marketing plan through means of urgent care business consulting. Figuring out urgent care start up costs is a big deal, but once that’ done, the business may prove lucrative to set up and launch.
The Modern Business of Urgent Care
As mentioned earlier, the business of urgent care centers was launched in 2000, w3hen the first retail medical clinic opened in Twin Cities, Minnesota, in 2000. Ever since then, this field has grown rapidly, and from 2000 to 2016, some 2,000 urgent care centers had been built. By the year 2018, this figure had grown to 2,800 or so, and it may very well expand in the future, too. This attracts a lot of patients, since urgent care centers are faster and cheaper to visit than the ER, and they are a great option for taking care of minor medical problems. In fact, it is believed that each year, some 19% of American households has visited such a medical clinic.
What are these clinics like? Most often, they are small and independent clinics that are staffed with nurse practitioners and physicians, though these clinics are also known to sometimes form small local networks with one another. Some urgent care clinics might be open 24 hours a day, and others might have more restricted hours of operation. As for where to find them, some might be free standing structures, but many others are built into strip malls for easy access for patients. Some walk in clinics can be found in retailers, known as retail clinics. They often have pharmacies, and this is convenient for shoppers. Finally, some urgent care centers are found in hospitals, though they offer distinct care and staff from the hospital itself.
Launching a New Urgent Care Clinic
It is clear that this is a large and lucrative business, so an entrepreneur may want to take part in it. To start a new clinic, this person may want to consider urgent care start up costs, and find out some typical urgent care start up costs through expert consulting. What is more, those urgent care start up costs might be covered by specialized medical business lenders, who may offer solid loans at fair interest rates. It may be noted that big banks don’t often lend money to small companies or startups, as these enterprises often fail and big banks don’t like that risk. Instead, urgent care start up costs are best covered with loans from the aforementioned medical lenders. Having a good business credit score and personal credit score can help secure a good loan.
The entrepreneur may also figure out where to place this clinic. In a city, there is competition and higher rent costs, but there will be a lot of potential patients around. Meanwhile, the entrepreneur may consider building their new urgent care center in a rural community that does not yet have one, and this may prove quite popular in the area. This can open up medical care options to some rural Americans for the first time.
Meanwhile, the entrepreneur will also need construction crews to build the clinic, or hire renovators to prepare a newly purchased empty spot in a strip mall to construct the urgent care center. After that, there is also the matter of finding medical supply wholesalers, who can provide everything from medicine and cotton swabs to needles and scales. Not to mention autoclaves or even vaccine freezers, if those are required. This new urgent care center will need to hire staff, and launch a marketing campaign to attract patients. This involves putting a sign over the door and creating ads online with local SEO work.
