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How to Write a Business Plan for a Private Clinic: Complete Guide

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  • January 3, 2023

business plan for surgery

Whether you’re looking to raise funding from private investors or to get a loan from a bank (like a SBA loan) for your private clinic, you will need to prepare a solid business plan.

In this article we go through, step-by-step, all the different sections you need in the business plan of your private clinic.

Whether you want to open a primary care or a specialized clinic (e.g. plastic surgery, chiropractor or any other type of medical clinic), use this template to create a complete, clear and solid business plan that get you funded.

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary of a business plan gives a sneak peek of the information about your business plan to lenders and/or investors.

If the information you provide here is not concise, informative, and scannable, potential lenders and investors will lose interest.

Though the executive summary is the first and the most important section, it should normally be the last section you write because it will have the summary of different sections included in the entire plan.

Why do you need a business plan for a private clinic?

The purpose of a business plan is to secure funding through one of the following channels:

  • Obtain bank financing or secure a loan from other lenders (such as a SBA loan )
  • Obtain private investments from investment funds, angel investors, etc.
  • Obtain a public or a private grant

How to write an executive summary for a private clinic?

Provide a precise and high-level summary of every section that you have included in the business plan of your construction business. The information and the data you include in this segment should grab the attention of potential investors and lenders immediately.

Also make sure that the executive summary doesn’t exceed 2 pages in total: it’s supposed to be a summary for investors and lenders who don’t have time to scroll through 40-50 pages, so keep it short and brief.

The executive summary usually consists of 5 major sub-sections:

  • Business overview : describe your medical clinic, where it is located, and what type of inpatient or outpatient care you offer. Also, mention the services and treatments you specialize in and the average price per treatment
  • Market analysis : a comprehensive market analysis includes details about your market. Provide information about your target audience (children vs. elderly, health conditions, outpatient care trends and preferences, etc.), as well as the market size , growth and competitors . 
  • People : introduce your construction business’ management and employee structure. Provide a brief (no more than a couple of sentences each) of the knowledge and experience of the team. Also, mention how the company will be structured (management roles and reporting lines)
  • Financial plan: how much profit and revenue do you expect in the next 5 years? When will you reach the break-even point and start making profits? You can include here a chart with your key financials (revenue, gross profit, net profit )
  • Funding ask : what loan/investment/grant are you seeking? How much do you need? How long will this last?

business plan for surgery

Medical Clinic Financial Model

Download an expert-built 5-year Excel financial model for your business plan

2. Medical Clinic Business Overview

In this section, you should explain in simple terms the type of clinic you wish to open. Here are a few questions you may want to answer:

  • Where exactly is your medical clinic located? And why did you choose that location?
  • What type of medical clinic are you opening (franchise vs. independent)?
  • Are you opening a primary care or a specialized health clinic?
  • Which medical services will you provide? For whom (what is your target audience)?
  • What is the capacity of your private clinic? How many beds? How many doctors/specialists will there be?
  • What will be the legal structure of your company (partnership, corporation)?

a) Rationale

Before we jump into the business, it’s always good practice to give an overview of the rationale behind this project. In other words: why did you decide to open such clinic in your area today?

For example, if there are no plastic surgery clinics in the area despite strong market demand, you could come in to fill the existing market gap after conducting a proper market analysis. 

b) Business Concept

Now, it’s time to explain your business model. Firstly, business owners can choose between independent practices or franchising. 

But that’s not all. You must also decide on the specific type of clinic you want to open. And that’s only possible after answering the following questions; 

  • Will you specialize in primary care or specialty medicine?
  • Is this a franchise or an independent clinic?
  • Is this a solo, group or hospital-owned practice?

What are the different types of medical clinics? 

Here are a few business models commonly used by medical professionals:

  • Solo practice : you will be the main partner of the clinic and have full control. A major pitfall of a solo practice is the high startup costs for leasing the property, purchasing the medical equipment, managing administrative functions and marketing your business
  • Group practice : you partner with other physicians or practitioners instead. This business model comes with fewer responsibilities, with well-defined roles for every individual. Also, it provides easy access to capital, lowering the startup and operating costs along the way
  • Hospital-owned practice : a medical clinic within the hospital premises. Here, you work with a fixed schedule, getting limited freedom compared to a solo practice. But the upside is that you can capitalize on the hospital’s resources, making it easier to establish your practice and market it to your target audience. 

business plan for surgery

c) Treatments and Services

In addition to the business model of your clinic, let’s now take a look at the services and treatments you offer.

For example, a plastic surgery clinic with reconstructive procedures could offer the following treatments:

  • Head/face/eyes (Facelift, forehead lift, eyelid lift, ear pinning, hair replacement surgery, nasal surgery, nose reshaping, etc.)
  • Mouth and teeth (oral surgery)
  • Breasts (Breast augmentation, breast reconstruction, breast reduction, breast lift)
  • Abdomen (Liposuction, tummy tuck, etc.)
  • Hand and upper limb 
  • Skin (Chemical peel, vein removal, scar revision, tattoo removal, dermaplaning, laser skin resurfacing)

d) Pricing Strategy

Lenders and investors will want to see your pricing strategy . We recommend you create a summary table with the main services you offer as well as their prices.

You can start by determining the average cost of similar medical services in your area before making your pricing list. 

When creating your pricing structure, consider the necessary elements, like the local regulations and whether most consumers rely on insurance bodies to cover their medical expenses or fund them from their pockets.

e) Legal Structure

Finally, your business overview section should specify what type of business structure you want. Is this a corporation or a partnership (LLC)? Who are the investors? How much equity percentage do they own? Is there a Board of Directors? If so, whom? Do they have experience in the industry? 

business plan for surgery

3. Medical Clinic Market Overview

One of the most important steps when writing a medical clinic’s business plan is understanding the market you’re in. Try to address here the following questions:

  • Industry size & growth : how big is the industry in your area? What is its growth/decline rate, and what factors contribute to its growth/decline in the region?
  • Competition overview : how many competitors are there? How do they compare vs. your business? How can you differentiate yourself from them? 
  • Customer analysis : who is your target market ? What type of inpatient and/or outpatient treatments do they need?

a) Medical Industry Size & Growth

The cosmetic surgery industry was worth $20.1 billion in 2022 (+2.3% CAGR from 2017-22).

In total, there were 22.4 million procedures in 2019: that’s an average price per procedure of around $900.

In terms of plastic surgeons, there were approximately 7,000 in the US in 2020 .

business plan for surgery

b) Competition Overview

In addition to an overview of the market size, you should also describe who are your competitors in the area where you plan to open your clinic.

Find useful information about your competitors’ biggest strengths and weaknesses , products and services , and marketing strategies.

For example, create a summary table that compares your competitors’ treatments, marketing strategies, pricing ranges, target audience, etc. 

c) Customer Analysis

Finally, take some time to understand your target audience. Here are a few elements you must look into:

  • What is the average spend per capita on medical procedures (for example plastic surgery)?
  • How often do people need such treatments?
  • The most sought-after treatments
  • What’s the average price of a treatment / service?

business plan for surgery

4. Sales & Marketing

The next section of your medical clinic’s business plan should outline your customer acquisition strategy. Start by answering the following questions:

  • What are the different marketing strategies you will use? 
  • What are your unique selling points (USPs)?
  • How will you track the success of your marketing strategy ? 
  • What is your customer acquisition cost (CAC)? 
  • What is your marketing budget? 
  • Will you consider any offers or promotions to attract new clients? 

What marketing channels do private clinics use? 

A few marketing channels used by clinics include; 

  • Content marketing on social media and blogs
  • Email, SMS marketing
  • Online local listing (Google Business)
  • Word-of-mouth advertisement, recommendations
  • PPC ads, Facebook ads, etc. 

business plan for surgery

5. Management & People

You must address two things here:

  • The management team and their experience / track record
  • The organizational structure : different team members and who reports to whom?

Small businesses often fail because of managerial weaknesses. Thus, having a strong management team is vital. Highlight the experience and education of senior managers that you intend to hire to oversee your private clinic.

For the partners of the clinic, describe their duties, responsibilities, and roles. Also, highlight their previous experience and track record.

For the receptionists, personal assistants, office managers, medical assistants, etc. no need to go into a lot of detail, especially as it’s likely you won’t have hired them yet before you get the funding you need, which is the objective of this business plan.

Organization Structure

Even if you haven’t already hired anyone yet, you must provide a chart of the organizational structure defining the hierarchy of reporting.

business plan for surgery

6. Financial Plan

The financial plan is perhaps, with the executive summary, the most important section of any business plan for a private clinic.

Indeed, a solid financial plan tells lenders that your business is viable and can repay the loan you need from them. If you’re looking to raise equity from private investors, a solid financial plan will prove them your private clinic is an attractive investment.

There should be 2 sections to your financial plan section:

  • The startup costs of your private clinic
  • The 5-year financial projections

a) Startup Costs

Before we expand on 5-year financial projections in the following section, it’s always best practice to start with listing the startup costs of your project. For a private clinic, startup costs are all the expenses you incur before you open your clinic.

These expenses typically are: the lease for the space, the renovation costs, the equipment and furniture.

Logically, the startup costs vary depending on the size of your clinic, the treatments you will offer (and therefore the equipment you need), the quality of the equipment and furniture, whether you buy the real estate or rent a commercial space, etc.

b) Financial Projections

In addition to startup costs, you will now need to build a solid 5-year financial model for your private clinic. Your financial projections should be built using a spreadsheet (e.g. Excel or Google Sheets) and presented in the form of tables and charts.

As usual, keep it concise here and save details (for example detailed financial statements, financial metrics, key assumptions used for the projections) for the appendix instead.

Your financial projections should answer at least the following questions:

  • How much revenue do you expect to generate over the next 5 years?
  • When do you expect to break even?
  • How much cash will you burn until you get there?
  • What’s the impact of a change in pricing (say 15%) on your margins?
  • What is your average customer acquisition cost?

You should include here your 3 financial statements (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement). This means you must forecast:

  • The number of patients you can receive in a day or week;
  • The number of procedures you can perform ;
  • Your expected revenue ;
  • Operating costs to run the business ;
  • Any other cash flow items (e.g. capex, debt repayment, etc.).

When projecting your revenue, make sure to sensitize pricing (prices of treatments and services) and your sales volume (number of customers). Indeed, a small change in these assumptions may have a significant impact on your revenues and profits.

business plan for surgery

7. Use of Funds

This is the last section of the business plan of your private clinic. Now that we have explained what your private clinic’s business model and services are, your marketing strategy, etc., this section must now answer the following questions:

  • How much funding do you need?
  • What financial instrument(s) do you need: is this equity or debt, or even a free-money public grant?
  • How long will this funding last?
  • Where else does the money come from? If you apply for a SBA loan for example, where does the other part of the investment come from (your own capital, private investors?)

If you raise debt:

  • What percentage of the total funding the loan represents?
  • What is the corresponding Debt Service Coverage Ratio ?

If you raise equity

  • What percentage ownership are you selling as part of this funding round?
  • What is the corresponding valuation of your business?

Use of Funds

Any private clinic business plan should include a clear use of funds section. This is where you explain how the money will be spent.

Will you spend most of the loan / investment in paying your employees’ salaries? Or will it cover mostly the cost for the lease deposit for the space, the renovation and equipment?

For the use of funds, we also recommend using a pie chart like the one we have in our financial model template where we outline the main expenses categories as shown below.

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Medical Practice Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

medical practice business plan template

Medical Practice Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their medical practices. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a medical practice business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Medical Practice Business Plan Template here >

What is a Medical Practice Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your medical office as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Medical Office

If you’re looking to start a medical practice, or grow your existing medical practice, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your medical practice in order to improve your chances of success. Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Medical Practices

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a medical office are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for medical practices.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a medical business.

If you want to start a medical private practice or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below we detail what should be included in each section of your business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of medical office you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a practice that you would like to grow, or are you operating practices in multiple markets?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the industry. Discuss the type of practice you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of medical office you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of medical practices:

  • Group medical practice : this type of medical practice consists of two or more physicians providing medical care in the same facility. The physicians typically have different specialties, which allow them to collaborate and consult with each other.
  • Private medical practice: this type of medical practice involves only one physician working along. A private practice usually serves a limited number of patients and operates with a small staff.
  • Hospital-based medical practice: this type of medical practice is an ancillary medical office that is owned by a nearby hospital. The hospital will manage the practice and employ the doctors and nurses to work in their facilities and ancillary clinics.

In addition to explaining the type of medical practice you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

  • When and why did you start the business?
  • What is your business model?
  • What is your mission statement?
  • What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of patients served, number of positive reviews, reaching X amount of patients served, etc.
  • Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your business structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the medical industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the medical industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating. 

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section:

  • How big is the medical industry (in dollars)?
  • Is the market declining or increasing?
  • Who are the key competitors in the market?
  • Who are the key suppliers in the market?
  • What trends are affecting the industry?
  • What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
  • What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your medical office? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, families, seniors, and anyone needing a type of medical service.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of medical office you operate. Clearly, families would respond to different marketing promotions than seniors, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other medical offices. 

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes hospitals, clinics, teledocs, and online health forums.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other practices with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be other practices located very close to your business location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

  • What types of medical services do they provide?
  • What areas do they serve?
  • What types of patients do they serve?
  • What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
  • What are they good at?
  • What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

  • Will you provide services that your competitors don’t offer?
  • Will you provide faster patient waiting time?
  • Will you provide better patient service?
  • Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a medical office, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of practice that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific services you will be offering. For example, in addition to medical services, will you provide nutrition and diet guidelines, insurance claim processing, family and loved one communication, and any other services?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your practice. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your medical office located near a school, a busy neighborhood, an office complex, or an urban setting, etc.? Discuss how your location might be the ideal location for your patients.

Promotions : The final part of your marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

  • Advertising in local papers and magazines
  • Commercials
  • Social media marketing
  • Local radio advertising
  • Word-of-mouth

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. It should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your practice, including patient and family communication and scheduling, managing appointments, inventory of medical supplies, accounting, billing, payroll, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to obtain your XXth patient, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your medical practice to a new location.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your practice’s ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company. 

Ideally you and/or your management team members have direct experience in managing medical practices. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a medical practice or a physician or nurse in the local medical field.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you take on one new patient at a time or multiple new patients offering a variety of medical services ? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your medical practice, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

: Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. 

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a medical practice:

  • Cost of furniture and build-out
  • Cost of medical supplies and equipment
  • Payroll or salaries paid to staff
  • Business and medical malpractice insurance
  • Taxes and permits
  • Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your list of medical services your practice will offer, types of patients you will be targeting, and the areas your practice will serve.  

Putting together a business plan for your medical practice is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful medical practice.  

Medical Practice Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my medical practice business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Medical Practice Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Medical Practice Business Plan.

Where Can I Download a Medical Clinic Business Plan PDF?

You can download our medical clinic business plan PDF here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of medical practice business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a medical practice business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of medical practice businesses?

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Medical Practice business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how Growthink’s business plan advisors can give you a winning business plan.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Business Plan Template

How to create a business plan for a medical practice

business plan for surgery

Starting a medical practice is no small feat. You may consider it lucrative and the right step for your career but have you considered all that it takes to start and run a medical practice? This is what a business plan is for. 

A business plan is a strategic planning document that lays out in detail the objectives and goals of a company and also how the company plans to achieve its goals. A business plan can be considered a road map for any business that details a business’ profile, products and services, marketing, financials, operations and organizational structure.

Developing a business plan requires strategic planning to identify the mission and vision, target audience, operations and financials of your medical practice. This is a crucial step when starting your medical practice. In this article we will share about how to write a business plan for a new medical practice.

What’s the biggest factor in the success of a new medical practice according to physicians?

Why you need a business plan for a medical practice

Just like any other business, a business plan is very important before starting a medical practice. In a recent Sermo poll, 52% of respondents indicated it is important to get a business plan for your medical practice and we will share reasons why. 

  • A business plan helps to define the core essence of your medical practice. With a medical practice business plan, you can properly define your practice’s vision, mission, goals and target audience.
  • With a medical practice business plan, one can properly estimate the financial cost of starting up as well make financial projections for a time period. 
  • A medical business plan can help define marketing for your practice and set SMART marketing goals.
  • A medical business plan helps to strategically identify and define all the stakeholders relevant to your practice and their role in the success of your practice. 
  • A SWOT analysis is a core part of any business plan. This will help the medical practice understand its strengths, its competitors, opportunities and the environment where it plans to operate in. 

Doctor making business plan

Types of business plans for a medical practice

There are different types of business plans for different business types. For a medical practice, these two types of business plans are most common: traditional business plan and lean business plan. 

A traditional business plan is a more robust type of business plan that covers a wide range of topics regarding business planning. A traditional business plan usually covers areas such as products and services, financing, marketing and organizational structure. It is often used as a guide for business operations and an effective tool for communicating the medical office business plan to investors and business partners. 

A lean business plan on the other hand is a more succinct version of a traditional business plan. A lean plan is faster and easier to write. It focuses mainly on strategy, financials, important dates, milestones and activities. Think of a lean business plan as being more straight to the point. Some people use this business plan when trying to grow their business and achieve certain goals at specific timelines. 

How to create a medical practice business plan

There are different medical practice business plan templates but most cover four major key areas which are company profile, sales and marketing, operations and financials. 

Let’s take a look at what an ideal business plan template for medical practice should look like. 

1. Executive Summary 

The executive summary is usually the first section in a business plan. It should briefly describe the medical practice, products and service offerings, target audience, the organizational structure and financials. 

Executive summaries should be kept short and are usually no longer than a page. However, it should have as much important information as possible. The executive summary is usually the page of interest when your business plan is being reviewed by investors and business partners. 

Private practice medical facility

2. Company description 

This section of the business plan allows you to define your medical practice in full detail. It should include the practice’s vision and mission statements, its goals and objectives and products and offerings. 

This section should detail the type of medical services your medical practice will be offering. If there are other medical experts who will be supporting your offerings, this is a good section to define that. This section should also describe your target patients. 

 By creating an ideal patient profile, medical practices can better describe their target patients. The ideal patient profile should describe patients best suited for the types of services you offer and who can afford to pay for your services. 

3. Market Analysis

Your medical practice is most likely not the only medical practice in your location and there may be alternative options where your patients may go for treatment or medical services. The market analysis section in a medical business plan should describe the current market for your services and present competitors. 

The market analysis section may require conducting a market research to understand the patient demographic and your competitors. 

4. Marketing and Sales

The importance of marketing in a business cannot be overemphasized. In a Sermo poll, 64% of physicians indicated attracting and retaining patients as the biggest factor in the success of a new practice. The marketing and sales section of a medical business plan should describe how the medical practice intends to attract and retain its target patients. It should describe the marketing plan, marketing activities and the marketing goals of the medical practice. 

When describing this section, keep in mind the 7Ps of marketing. This includes the product, people, price, promotion, place, packaging and positioning. Each of these must be considered when developing a successful marketing strategy. 

The marketing and sales section is also a good place to include a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is a critical analysis of the Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats of the medical practice. 

Patient and doctor inside private practice

5. Operations

The Operations section is a very important part of the business plan. It describes how the medical practice will work. Things to cover include, working hours, staff strength, location, technology, outsourcing and logistics. 

The operations of a medical practice is very sensitive and it would help if a lot of things are defined before starting the business. For instance, the location and layout of your medical practice should be well captured and defined in the medical business plan. You should also consider outsourcing. Are you handling medical billing in-house or will it be outsourced? Will you be handling recruitment or it will be outsourced to a staffing agency? 

Also supplies and logistics of medical materials should be considered and defined. If your medical practice will have a pharmacy, how will the drugs be sourced? These are some of the important questions that should be answered in this section. 

6. Milestones and Timelines

This section involves setting and defining achievable milestones and corresponding deadlines. This way it is clear what needs to be done and by when it needs to be completed. 

For setting up a medical practice, milestones can include major events like renting a place, purchase of medical equipment, recruitment of staff and set up of medical devices. 

7. Organizational structure

A business plan is not complete without defining the organizational structure and/or team that will carry out business operations. In this section, define the management team and their required qualifications. It is also important to define roles of the management team and projected salaries. 

At this point, one can also add in the hiring plan for other members of the organization. Define the other roles, how they will be recruited, skill set of interest and how much they will earn.

Private practice staff

8. Financial plan

A solid financial plan must be included in every business plan. For a start up medical practice, the financial plan should include start up costs. The financial plan should also include a cash flow forecast that shows projections of cash inflow and outflow over a time period. This is usually broken down on a monthly basis. 

A good financial plan should tell a story of how the business will grow income-wise. If your medical practice has already been established, other financial statements like income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements will help give a better picture of the financial stability of your medical practice. 

9. Appendix

This is a section reserved for miscellaneous topics. Other supporting documents such as pictures, charts, reference letters that may be of interest can be added in this section.

Building a successful medical practice starts with writing a good medical business plan. Start by strategically thinking about your medical practice. Using the guide above of a private practice business plan template, you can think through all the important aspects of starting your medical practice and write an effective business plan that will help the process. 

Don’t do it alone, get help from other physicians

For more useful tips that will help you start up your medical practice, sign up on Sermo today. Engaging with more than 1 million physicians across 90 specialties and 150 countries, Sermo offers a unique physician-first online community that allows clinicians to communicate about issues that are important to them and their patients.

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Medical Practice Business Plan

business plan for surgery

Considering starting a new medical clinic? Great. Medical practice is one of the most rewarding and profitable entrepreneurial ventures for any medical professional.

You can easily start a medical clinic, but you need a detailed business plan when it comes to staying competitive in the market, raising funds, applying for loans, and scaling it like a pro.

Need help writing a business plan for your medical practice business? You’re at the right place. Our medical practice business plan template will help you get started.

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Free Business Plan Template

Download our Free Business Plan Template now and pave the way to success. Let’s turn your vision into an actionable strategy!

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How to Write a Medical Practice Business Plan?

Writing a medical practice business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is the first section planned to offer an overview of the entire business plan. However, it is written after the entire business plan is ready and summarizes each section of your plan.

Here are a few key components to include in your executive summary:

Introduce your business:

  • This section may include the name of your medical clinic, its location when it was founded, the type of medical practice (E.g., solo practice, group practice, multi-specialty practice.), etc.

Market opportunity:

Mention your services:, medical services:, marketing & sales strategies:, financial highlights:, call to action:.

Ensure your executive summary is clear, concise, easy to understand, and jargon-free.

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2. Business Overview

The business overview section of your business plan offers detailed information about your clinic. The details you add will depend on how important they are to your business. Yet, business name, location, business history, and future goals are some of the foundational elements you must consider adding to this section:

Business description:

  • Primary care practice
  • Specialty practice
  • Surgical practice
  • Pediatrics practice
  • Geriatrics practice, And more.
  • Describe the legal structure of your medical practice, whether it is a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, or others.
  • Explain where your business is located and why you selected the place.

Mission statement:

Business history:.

  • Additionally, If you have received any awards or recognition for excellent work, describe them.

Future goals:

This section should provide a thorough understanding of your business, its history, and its future plans. Keep this section engaging, precise, and to the point.

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your business plan should offer a thorough understanding of the industry with the target market, competitors, and growth opportunities. You should include the following components in this section.

Target market:

  • For instance, a primary healthcare clinic may target individuals and families seeking routine health check-ups.

Market size and growth potential:

Competitive analysis:, market trends:.

  • For instance, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are transforming the medical industry; explain how you plan on implementing these technologies in your business operations.

Regulatory environment:

Here are a few tips for writing the market analysis section of your medical clinic business plan:

  • Conduct market research, industry reports, and surveys to gather data.
  • Provide specific and detailed information whenever possible.
  • Illustrate your points with charts and graphs.
  • Write your business plan keeping your target audience in mind.

4. Products And Services

The product and services section should describe the specific services and products that will be offered to customers. To write this section should include the following:

Medical treatment:

services: Mention the medical services your business will offer. This list may include services like,

  • General medical care
  • Specialty care
  • Chronic disease management
  • Wellness and preventive care
  • Treatment and diagnosis of illness and injuries, And more.

Describe each service:

  • For instance, the process of chronic disease management may include treatment planning, patient education, medication management, patient engagement, care coordination, regular monitoring, and follow-up appointments.

Insurance & payment options:

  • In addition to these payment options, describe if your medical practice offers regular patients discounts or any membership plans.

Additional services:

In short, this section of your medical practice plan must be informative, precise, and client-focused. By providing a clear and compelling description of your offerings, you can help potential investors and readers understand the value of your business.

5. Sales And Marketing Strategies

Writing the sales and marketing strategies section means a list of strategies you will use to attract and retain your clients. Here are some key elements to include in your sales & marketing plan:

Unique selling proposition (USP):

  • For example, advanced technology, specialized services, and emergency medical care could be some of the great USPs for a general medical clinic.

Pricing strategy:

Marketing strategies:, sales strategies:, patient retention:.

Overall, this section of your medical practice business plan should focus on customer acquisition and retention.

Have a specific, realistic, and data-driven approach while planning sales and marketing strategies for your medical clinic, and be prepared to adapt or make strategic changes in your strategies based on feedback and results.

6. Operations Plan

The operations plan section of your business plan should outline the processes and procedures involved in your business operations, such as staffing requirements and operational processes. Here are a few components to add to your operations plan:

Staffing & Training:

Operational process:, safety and infection control:.

  • These protocols may include waste management, disinfection, sterilization, infection surveillance, etc.

Equipment & Technology:

  • In addition, provide details on the sourcing and maintenance of these instruments and equipment. Explain how these technologies benefit your patients and help you stand out as a medical service provider.

Adding these components to your operations plan will help you lay out your business operations, which will eventually help you manage your business effectively.

7. Management Team

The management team section provides an overview of your medical practice’s management team. This section should provide a detailed description of each manager’s experience and qualifications, as well as their responsibilities and roles.

Founder/CEO:

Key managers:.

  • It should include, Medical director, department/division heads, committees, and other doctors involved in the medical operations, including their education, specialization, professional background, and years of experience in the medical industry.

Organizational structure:

Compensation plan:, advisors/consultants:.

  • So, if you have any advisors or consultants, include them with their names and brief information about roles and years of experience.

This section should describe the key personnel for your medical practice services, highlighting how you have the perfect team to succeed.

8. Financial Plan

Your financial plan section should provide a summary of your business’s financial projections for the first few years. Here are some key elements to include in your financial plan:

Profit & loss statement:

Cash flow statement:, balance sheet:, break-even point:.

  • This exercise will help you understand how much revenue you need to generate to sustain or be profitable.

Financing needs:

Be realistic with your financial projections, and make sure you offer relevant information and evidence to support your estimates.

9. Appendix

The appendix section of your plan should include any additional information supporting your business plan’s main content, such as market research, legal documentation, financial statements, and other relevant information.

  • Add a table of contents for the appendix section to help readers easily find specific information or sections.
  • In addition to your financial statements, provide additional financial documents like tax returns, a list of assets within the business, credit history, and more.These statements must be the latest and offer financial projections for at least the first three or five years of business operations.
  • Provide data derived from market research, including stats about the medical practice industry, user demographics, and industry trends.
  • Include any legal documents such as permits, licenses, and contracts.
  • Include any additional documentation related to your business plan, such as product brochures, marketing materials, operational procedures, etc.

Use clear headings and labels for each section of the appendix so that readers can easily find the necessary information.

Remember, the appendix section of your medical practice business plan should only include relevant and important information supporting your plan’s main content.

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This sample medical practice business plan will provide an idea for writing a successful medical practice plan, including all the essential components of your business.

After this, if you still need clarification about writing an investment-ready business plan to impress your audience, download our medical practice business plan pdf .

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Frequently asked questions, why do you need a medical practice business plan.

A business plan is an essential tool for anyone looking to start or run a successful medical practice. It helps to get clarity in your business, secures funding, and identifies potential challenges while starting and growing your business.

Overall, a well-written plan can help you make informed decisions, which can contribute to the long-term success of your medical practice.

How to get funding for your medical practice business?

There are several ways to get funding for your medical office, but self-funding is one of the most efficient and speedy funding options. Other options for funding are:

Small Business Administration (SBA) loan

Crowdfunding, angel investors.

Apart from all these options, there are small business grants available, check for the same in your location and you can apply for it.

Where to find business plan writers for your medical practice business?

There are many business plan writers available, but no one knows your business and ideas better than you, so we recommend you write your general practice business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind.

What is the easiest way to write your medical practice business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any medical practice business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software.

About the Author

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Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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business plan for doctors

The ultimate business plan roadmap for doctors in private practice.

Kris Borgraeve - Co-founder Digital Practice

Kris Borgraeve

November 18, 2021

The simple checklist to start writing your business plan

A business plan for doctors with ambition.

When we help doctors communicate online and attract (more) patients to their private practice, we always include a business strategy process . The checklist partly covers general best practices to create an effective business plan for doctors, and some of the items are relevant beyond your business plan. The answers to these questions often become the DNA of the practice, and I have seen specialists and surgeons create their business success in no time, using a simple checklist like this one:

  • Your why: Taking the time to reinspect the main reason why you have chosen to create a private or independent clinic is a success factor in itself. It reconnects you with your purpose. Jot down a few bullet points to summarise why you decided to create your practice. Go back to it from time to time to reconnect with your passion.
  • Your goals: Whether this step involves closing your eyes and visualising, or sitting in front of a whiteboard with your eyes wide open. As long as you create clarity about your goals, 12 months and 3 or 5 years from today. What type of patients do you spend most of your time with? What does your team look like? How are your status and reputation?
  • Timeline: If you are starting out or upscaling your practice, create a plan with timeframes for each step. If you underestimate the time to move to the next step, it may cost you money or you may lose momentum and team members who don’t have the patience to wait until it all comes together.
  • Budget: Do some research on the various costs to run your practice. Consult with a reliable financial expert to crunch the numbers. Also research the real costs that are involved in building a brand, creating a strong profile and activating a systemised GP-referral strategy.
  • Market research: Did you know you could get access to the online traffic volumes of your competitors in any major capital city for any specialty? Check who is most visible for which type of treatment or procedure. Research the educational content that is most googled for and work with an expert who knows your local market to create realistic traffic and lead projections.
  • Avatars: Envision the type of patient you want to see in your future and ideal practice. Build your avatar with as much detail as possible, from age brackets to preferred suburbs, including income ranges, and places where your ideal patient spends time.
  • Focus treatments or services: Many specialist doctors still believe they need to communicate about every little procedure they do. Leading specialists understand the power of subspecialising. Would you rather be one of the 340 orthopaedic surgeons that do hip, elbow, knee, shoulder and wrist procedures? Or one out of 3 who is doing elbow surgery for tennis players?
  • Hospital associations: Think ahead and get informed about accreditation options for the hospitals in your catchment area. Read the fine print. Speak to colleagues in another specialty area about their experience with the hospital you are approaching.

With that checklist in mind, you will be best off if you find experts who have a clear focus on the mechanics of an independent or private health practice.

Brand, Market Research and other business planning secrets

Business plan essentials for doctors.

Your practice as a brand is a reality, no matter how big or small your efforts to turn it into a brand. Let me put this in perspective.

Even if you believe you are totally not the type of person to create a brand, you still are creating one. The following fictional scenario has often been a wake-up call in the workshops we run with specialist doctors and it will change your perspective on this concept of ‘brand creation for doctors’.

Do your research. Google your main treatments, procedures or the associated conditions and add the town or city where you work. Take a look at the top 5 specialists and ask yourself if the brand experience is building trust or not.

One of the little-known business secrets for doctors in private practice is the power of digital branding and content marketing . Doctors who have significant resources for patients who are still making up their minds are building a strategic advantage over doctors without a presence.

Business plan for doctors

Where to find help when starting out in private practice?

Business advice for doctors.

As you just start out in private practice, you will be well aware of the advantages of going private. There are many experts who can help you and a popular solution consists of one-stop-shop businesses who have a variety of experts on board, with particular expertise in the area of private practice success and growth.

What you are looking for is an integrated combination of expertise to help you with:

  • Financial setup
  • Administration and practice management
  • Credentialing and hospital accreditations
  • Real estate
  • Medical technology
  • Recruitment and HR

From experience, we know that adding marketing to the mix generally results in outsourcing back to specialist agencies such as Digital Practice. It may work well in transparent partnerships with other providers though, particularly if you have an existing business relationship with a provider in one of the above areas.

At Digital Practice, our focus is on generating income . It is the second most important layer of your business plan, right behind the clinical or surgical skills. The way we attract patient leads for your private practice is based on building online visibility, GP referral marketing and advanced market research into the information needs of your average patients. With the exponential rise of online and digital, this is rapidly becoming the first pillar of any substantial business plan for doctors, not a commodity that is added to the plan long after the above areas have been covered.

To share a remarkable story with you: Many of our top customers have actually started the process in the right order, creating an outline for their future brand first, and then adding the management, location and recruiting steps to their timeline. After all, the location, the team you hire and the management style you introduce, are all going to be part of what your patient experiences as your brand .

3 Thriving private practice business brands

Private practice business models.

The Woom is a Women’s Health brand with a unique brand and a unique business model. It offers the specialised expertise of accredited fertility specialists and gynaecologists, in conjunction with women’s health GPs, dietitians, psychologists and physiotherapists. The clear brand promise is supported by Google-optimised content per main business avenue on attractive, informative content pages. As a result, visibility is predictable and supports the business growth objectives for this ambitious and fresh expert brand in women’s health.

Advance Surgical has a boutique profile around lead surgeon Dr Jon Armstrong. The personal touch, the personability of the team and the transparency around fees and processes offer immediate guidance to the patient when they visit the Advance Surgical website. A variety of forms is available to get in touch, one of which allows patients to verify if they are a candidate for the weight loss surgery types that are offered.

Wexford Gastro has a brand positioning around the catchment area of the Wexford Building which serves as an anchor point for people in the surrounding suburbs. The brand focuses on facilitating patients who are preparing for their gastroenterology procedure, with clear information on what to expect. A fresh, simple and inviting ‘about section’ allows patients to get to know their specialist before they go and see them in a first consultation.

Start growing today!

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10 Steps to Create Your Medical Practice Business Plan

business plan for surgery

#4. Perfect Your Business Operations

Business operations is how your practice functions day-to-day. While a plan allows you to come up with strategies, business success is mostly an outcome of quality execution. The scope of business operations span across every function like finance, marketing, HR, and so on. Even though business operations can only begin post launch, you can start learning about operations.

Best organizations aim for process-driven and result-oriented operations. — For instance, you can use methods like  Objectives and Key Results  (OKRs) — a collaborative goal-setting process that helps you improve organizational performance.

While a general management experience allows you to deal with many scenarios, you can also list down and think how to go about the critical ones. For example:

  • What should your staff do to deliver the best experience?
  • How can you resolve patient issues quickly?
  • How will you conduct monthly performance reviews?

#5. Bring a Financial Discipline

Working capital, billing, rent, mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities,… there are too many things to account for. Unlike other areas like operations and marketing, you may not be able to make quick decisions for finances. So the earlier you get involved in financial planning, the better is your ability to control the outcomes.

If you don’t have any financial expertise, use basic calculations including investments, recurring expenses, and income. You can consider financial projection for upto three years to get an approximate idea about your finances. To bring financial discipline to your practice, you must use budgeting. Budgeting ensures that you will have enough money for the things you need and reduce overspending on unnecessary things.

#6. Don’t Ignore Marketing

Marketing is more than advertising and brand building. It includes several other things like getting feedback from customers, doing competitor analysis, and pricing correctly. So marketing is not a gimmick, but an important process for growth of any business. If you are not marketing, you could be leaving the growth of your practice to chance.

Even when you don’t want to advertise, there are a few other great ways of promoting your practice. For example, asking your patients for reviews on Google Maps will improve your visibility in local searches. Another great way is to post content like blog articles, videos, podcasts, etc that your patients find useful and get to know about you.

Since every practice has its own unique factors like demographic, location, etc, marketing requirements differ. So the marketing has to adapt to your unique situation rather than going for mainstream ideas. For example, if your patients are of an older demographic in a rural area, radio ads could be the best way to get the word out about your practice.

Marketing deserves special attention in your business plan. Your plan can focus on gaining maximum exposure to your potential patients. Even if that requires additional investments. By prioritizing growth over recouping investments early, you create a long-lasting traction for your practice.

business plan for surgery

#7. Check Government Laws & Regulations

The US federal, state, and local authorities have rules to protect the public, promote access to care, and to ensure that medical providers adhere to the rules. Laws and regulations are complex. So you need to have a thorough understanding of them before starting your practice.

This is a list of a few important laws and regulations for healthcare providers in the US:

  • Healthcare Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA)
  • Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
  • Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP)
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
  • Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA)
  • Affordable Care Act

You can learn more about US healthcare laws and regulations  here .

#8. Hire the Best

People are the heart of any organization. Having the right staff relieves you from everything else and let’s you focus more on providing better healthcare. It’s almost like putting everything else on auto-pilot. However, recruiting is not easy. You may have to put more effort than you planned for hiring. Additionally, you must research and plan for competitive salaries, work schedules, and training.

Here are a few websites to find experienced staff for your practice:

  • Healthcare eCareers
  • JAMA network
  • Medical Jobs

#9. List Down Equipment and Other Requirements

The most straightforward part of your business plan is to list down all the equipment and essentials. Here’s a short list you can use:

  • Clinic Equipment:  Stethoscopes, exam tables, otoscopes, blood pressure monitors, and other monitors
  • Office Equipment:  Computers, printers, network equipment, phones and payment machines
  • Supplies:  General medicine, disinfectant, anaesthetic, gloves, scalpels, syringes, gauze, and bandages
  • Network Services:  Phone networks, internet, utilities
  • Clothing:  Lab coats, uniforms, and name tags
  • Furniture:  Tables, chairs, and decor

#10. Perform a SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis allows you to have a clear overview of your practice. It will force you to look at your practice from new perspectives. This final step is one of the most crucial ones.

business plan for surgery

To create a SWOT analysis, you can critically analyse all areas of your practice and list down your conclusions in columns with S, W, O, and T. While strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, the opportunities and threats are external factors to your practice. The conclusions must be simple, objective, and short.

Towards Launching Your Practice

A business plan allows you to define, strategise, and gain clarity through all areas of your medical practice . Remember that a business plan is not set in stone. Planning is a continuous activity, and needs periodic reviews and updates. You are always moving through the plan-execute-review cycles. Though it may seem complicated, investing time for thoughtful planning can make your practice successful.

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What are the Elements of a Medical Practice Business Plan? Amanda Gutierrez

Physicians typically generate business plans at two junctures in their practice’s development — when they want loans, or when they want start-up capital. In other words, physicians tend to get serious about a business plan only when they need to go to a bank and ask for money. Knowing the key elements of a business plan will help you construct an effective, comprehensive plan for your medical practice.

Key Elements

What are the key elements of a good business plan? It typically contains four parts:

  • Business Description Essentially, this is your medical practice’s mission statement. It could consist of a single sentence, such as, “[T]o run a single-practitioner family medicine practice,” or “[T]o run a single-practitioner orthopedic surgery practice focusing on sports and athletic medicine.”Those examples are rather bare bones. Therefore, it is a good idea to include more details on your intended practice structure, whether you plan to have a partner and whom you expect your target patient population to be. Include your CV or a paragraph with a few more details on how you expect to fulfill your mission.
  • Marketing Plan Marketing is a never-ending aspect of running a business, though it carries even more weight when you are starting up your practice. Plan on developing a website and being on social media. Connect to professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn. Make sure you connect with local physicians and introduce yourself as a potential referral doctor. Based on your practice’s focus, you may even want to visit nursing homes or sporting events, or wherever your targeted group of patients might be.In addition, ask any hospital with which you are affiliated to help you market your practice. Pharmaceutical vendors and/or representatives also often assist with marketing efforts. An open house can be another way to introduce your practice to the community.
  • Financial Budgets Start-up medical practices need a budget for the business and household. Generally, new practices require about six months of working capital for both the business and the household. The household budget includes how much money you need to live on for six months, including rent or mortgage, taxes, insurance and food. Be generous with yourself, because it is better to estimate on the high end and have more than you need rather than less.The business budget is more complicated and requires you to make decisions about your practice. For example, if you plan to perform surgery, you will need a surgery suite. This will require a larger space and a bigger budget that includes equipment and staff. After you decide the appropriate number of staff, you will need to determine how much to pay them and what types of benefits you will offer.A specialized consultant can help with many of these decisions. A pro forma budget covering expenses and income for the first year makes sense, but it is important to project funds for several years in advance as well.

Staffing Strategy

Management includes you, of course, but the biggest part of your job is to see patients. You will likely need someone to manage your office. Thinking this through will help define your practice, which also will affect your budget. Some questions to ask are:

  • Will you hire an office manager or administrator or act as your own — at least at first?
  • Will you have one or more nurses?
  • Will you have physician assistants or nurse practitioners, and how many?
  • Will the staff be part-time or full-time?

Your decisions will affect pay and budget. You will likely need to revisit these questions over time as your practice grows.

That is a plan

These are just the most basic elements of a business plan. You can use them to establish the direction of your practice and calculate how much money you will need to start operating. By getting professional advice, generating a business plan early and revisiting it as your practice changes, you will be able to stay ahead of the curve in this rapidly evolving business.

For more information, contact Amanda Gutierrez at [email protected]  or call her at 312.670.7444. Visit  ORBA.com  to learn more about our  Health Care Group . © 2018

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  • ABOUT SMI GROUP
  • John Gialanella
  • Sue Ellen Smith
  • Ambulatory Surgery Centers
  • Anesthesiology & Pain Management Programs
  • Interim Operating Room Management

Operating Room Business Planning

  • Operating Room Design
  • OR Clinical Effectiveness
  • OR Materials Management Solutions
  • OR Scheduling Management
  • OR Succession Planning
  • Sterile Processing
  • Chicago Surgery Center Case Study
  • Midwest Academic Medical Center (64 ORs)
  • New Orleans Medical Center Case Study
  • Sterile Processing at Four Hospitals
  • Nebraska Medical Center
  • Seven SMI Group Client Hospitals
  • Washington DC Client Hospital
  • Rhode Island Hospital Case Study
  • Eye & Ear Specialty Hospital Case Study
  • CLIENT PORTFOLIO
  • CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

(734) 327.4000

Operating Room Business Planning Consultants - SMI Group

Surgery Center Management Solutions from SMI Group

Operating Room Business Planning is important because it helps identify aspects of a surgery program that can realistically increase market share and are at risk for loss to competitors. It helps develop a plan to both protect and increase the current market share. Efficient operating room management is a key driver of a hospital’s economic success.

In general, a business plan is an essential tool for entrepreneurs and business owners of any type. It helps to set clear goals and guidelines for managing the business, and can be used to set employee goals, obtain funding, or even sell the business one day. A business plan is like a roadmap to success, providing greater clarity on all aspects of the business, from marketing and finance to operations and product/service details. Unlike most businesses that offer products and services to the public, hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers have many layers to their operation that expose them to government regulation and lawsuits. It is especially important, therefor, to have the guidence of a company like SMI Group to steer your efforts in developing your operating room business plan.

Operating Room Business Planning Consultants - SMI Group

Roadmap to Operational & Marketing Success

There are several reasons why having a operating room business plan for your hospital or ambulatory surgical center is important. For one, it helps to steer the operation and marketing as it starts and grows, guiding ownership through each stage of starting and managing the business. A good business plan can also help to secure funding by showing potential investors that the business is worth investing in. Additionally, a well-written business plan can help to set and communicate goals, both for the owner and for employees, making it easier to track progress and achieve success.

An operating room business plan can also help to prove the viability of the business in the market. There are several ways a surgery center can increase its market share. Some of these include emphasizing convenience, identifying and meeting distinct local market needs, being proactive in patient outreach, adopting a customer opportunity perspective and disrupting the notion of “patient loyalty”¹. By conducting market research and analyzing competitors, a hospital or ambulatory surgery center can develop an effective marketing strategy and set appropriate price points for services. In some cases, market research may reveal that it does not make sense to start a particular business based on existing competition. In other cases, market research can guide the development of marketing strategies that others lack.

Market Share is Critical

In the healthcare industry, market share is critical. Measurement of it, and tactics to grow it, are getting more complicated as patients connect with providers in more sophisticated ways. One way to take market share from competitors is by developing the physician relationship and by the expansion of your ambulatory surgical center (or network of centers).

Operating Room Business Planning Consultants - SMI Group

Building an ambulatory surgical center with many locations requires a marketing and consumer experience strategy. If patients are not happy with their surgical experience, they will go elsewhere, making a multifaceted approach to protecting and increasing market share essential in the healthcare industry.

Overall, having a well-written business plan can help hospitals or ambulatory surgery centers avoid failure by providing a clear path forward and helping them make informed decisions about their operation.

The purpose of Operating Room Business Planning is to identify aspects of your surgery program that:

  • Can realistically increase market share.
  • Are at risk for loss to competitors.
  • Develop a plan to both protect and increase your current market share.
  • Develop an understanding of your physicians’ needs and the criteria they use to evaluate which hospitals to base their practices.
  • Develop strategic plans to achieve optimal satisfaction levels and long-term relationships between your hospital and medical staff with the goal of increasing referrals.
  • Position your hospital and medical staff as one strategic unit, improving your ability to market to and negotiate with managed care organizations.

Why Choose Surgery Management Improvement (SMI) Group?

Why Choose Surgery Management Improvement (SMI) Group?

The SMI Group’s Principals have worked as senior level executives and vice presidents of hospital management consulting firms including Chi Systems, DJ Sullivan & Associates, and Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Systems Inc.

  • SMI Group brings you experienced, dedicated clinical and business professionals who care about your hospital management. We will craft a winning strategy to successfully implement change for your organization.
  • The Principals and Founders of the Surgery Management Improvement Group share a combined total of seventy years of experience as hospital management CONSULTANTS.
  • All our consultants are seasoned professionals with perioperative clinical, surgery business, sterile processing, and high-level management experience.

Why Choose Surgery Management Improvement (SMI) Group?

Operating Room Scheduling Management

Operating room planning is a complex task where numerous resources must be synchronized in order to achieve efficiency. Surgeon availability, operating team scheduling, patient related information (i.e. estimated operating time, priority and diagnosis), equipment, and support resources must all be carefully orchestrated.

Surgery Management Improvement Group - Anesthesiology Program Consulting

Anesthesiology Program Consulting

A well-defined, coordinated anesthesiology program is essential to a cost and operationally effective, marketable operating room. Areas of evaluation and development expertise include: Program Evaluation and Design, Anesthesiologist/CRNA/ Resident Care Team Process Evaluation, Surgeon Nursing Interrelationship

Surgery Management Improvement Group - Succession Planning for the Operating Room

Operating Room Succession Planning

Use our tools and assistance to plan your operating room management succession. Our process identifies key roles, the management capabilities of existing staff, and cultivates qualified internal candidates to become superior leaders for tomorrow’s perioperative environment.

Surgery Management Improvement Group - Ambulatory Surgery Center Program Development

Ambulatory Surgery Center Program Development

SMI Group provides hospital and surgery center consulting services that provide ambulatory surgery program development & management solutions. We help you retain & grow Ambulatory Market Share while improving expected surgery outcomes.

Consulting Services

Case studies.

Starting a Plastic Surgery Practice?

plastic-surgeon-holding-ipad-shaking-hands-of-patient-in-exam-room

Five tips to consider, including how the right plastic surgery software should be part of your plan.

You’re in the final year of residency or fellowship, so naturally you’re beginning to wonder, what’s next? Should you join an established plastic surgery practice? Start your own? Work for a multi-specialty group? Go into academia? Further training? With the varied options that exist, you’ll need to evaluate your goals and your personal mission.

With all these options, unknown variables exist, but have no fear. You certainly won’t be the first nor the last plastic surgeon to embark on this journey. But you should learn from our successes and missteps rather than recreate the wheel.

As a private practice plastic surgeon for 15 years and having worked in virtually all of the settings mentioned above, I’ve been fortunate enough to successfully experience two different career paths which can help you. In my plastic surgery practice, I can fully engage my passion for reconstructive and cosmetic surgery and treat patients. I also serve as the medical director of plastic surgery for a major forward-thinking health IT company. I get the best of both worlds and want to share them with you.

In this post, I’ll outline some considerations that I believe are key should you decide to start your own plastic surgery practice.

1. Create your (realistic) vision and plastic surgery business plan including financial needs.

Time and patience are key. You need to take a calculated risk when deciding to start your own plastic surgery practice. Mapping out a realistic timeline, planning for expenses and deciding on marketing efforts will all come into play during this process.

You’ll want to start the process by drafting an executive summary which will be the framework for your plastic surgery business plan.

While the list below just covers the basics, the elements for this may include:

  • The business opportunity: With the rapid growth of the aesthetic industry and trends, there will be no shortage of patients needing treatments. But how you will you differentiate your practice from others?
  • Advantages of the opportunity: Can your plastic surgery practice cater to a niche market in the area for certain procedures not as commonly offered?
  • Your target market: What is the demographic makeup of the area? Will this help determine the size of your practice? Will it dictate the cosmetic surgery offerings you will provide for patients?
  • Products and services offered for your identified target market: Will you focus on mainly cosmetic or reconstructive procedures? Will this change over time? Will you offer medical spa services too?
  • Strategic plastic surgery marketing and sales initiatives: How will you build your brand awareness and patient base in your community?
  • The competitive landscape: How many other plastic surgery practices are in the area? What about other surgeons, nonsurgeons, or medspas offer similar services?
  • Summarized financial plan: What are your estimated startup and ongoing costs? How much capital will you need to start your plastic surgery business?
  • Owners and key staff members: How many individuals will you bring onboard? What are their credentials and job roles?
  • Implementation plan : What is the timeline for opening your practice? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success and timeframe to achieve them?

These are just some of the questions you will want to clearly answer along with the data, as needed, to back your plastic surgery business plan up.

As for an anticipated timeline of when to start the process on certain tasks, noted below are just some of the key items you may consider, and to plan accordingly for each.

  • Begin process of licensing and regulations 3 – 4 months in advance to avoid any last minute surprises. For example, in Florida medical licenses can take a year to obtain.
  • Start insurance credentialing 9 – 12 months in advance, so you can bill starting on day one. The importance of this may vary depending on the business you anticipate from more elective surgeries or one from medical necessity.
  • Choose your practice location 6 months ahead of time – you’ll need a physical address to process forms. You also want to evaluate where there may be a need in the market as well as evaluate costs for purchasing or renting and any construction or build outs.
  • Hire your staff about 6 weeks before opening day to get everyone ready for your first patient.

Now for the money talk. How are you going to fund the capital needed to get your plastic surgery practice up and running? There are certainly various options out there. Whichever you choose, prepare to have at least two years worth of funds available and expect to skip a personal salary for some time. Financial stability will be critical to long-term success. Outlined below are some of the funding options to consider.

  • Self-funding
  • Friends and family
  • Loan from a small or larger bank

As for marketing, that also takes a fair amount of funds to run well. I’ll expand on the plastic surgery marketing ideas a bit later in this post.

You probably had a plan mapped out before you decided to go through years of schooling to become a plastic surgeon in the first place. You should exert the same effort, if not more, into your business to reap long-term benefits. A relatively short term investment in the planning stages may pay off down the road.

2. Hire the right staff and start small.

You want to keep expenses at bay when you’re still growing your patient base. Remember, you have probably already spent a fair amount of money before bringing any funds in. You may want to hire only the essential staff at first. You need to build your brand and your referral base which will take time so you can increase patient volume. Prepare yourself, as it could take five years to be at full capacity.

Once you get started, don’t feel pressured to build out every exam room in your office. You do want the physical space to grow, but equipping each room is an expensive proposition and one that you don’t want to incur until your practice is running at full capacity.

Start with the must-haves not just the nice-to-haves to get your plastic surgery up and running. It comes down to supply and demand.

3. Consider equipment needed and leasing certain devices.

Again everything in moderation. While you may want to purchase the latest and greatest lasers and devices, it may make sense to lease equipment that you expect to generate the most interest from potential patients. Your geographic location and patient populations served may help indicate which treatment offerings would be the most sought after and needed in the community. For example, IPL is very common but a great starting point, a proven tool, not very expensive, and can be used to treat multiple conditions.

It’s crucial to stay abreast of plastic surgery and aesthetic industry trends as well. The American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) issues press releases and reports on market trends based on data. Maybe laser resurfacing will be an area of focus, perhaps it’s injectables, or maybe it’s mainly reconstructive plastic surgery offerings. Staying in tune to both trends in your local patient population as well as the industry can help lead to better decisions for your business and your patients, too.

4. Craft a plastic surgery marketing strategy.

Marketing takes both time and money to do well, which are certainly two valuable resources. Based on your geographic location you’ll have to ask yourself, would a billboard reach your potential patients? Maybe it’s an advertorial in the area’s high-end lifestyle magazine? Or perhaps it’s an ad in the local newspaper? What about social media marketing? It’s probably a strategic combination of those marketing tactics.

With so many viable avenues to help market your new plastic surgery business, it makes sense to focus on which ones have the best return on investment. This will take some time to fine tune and you may need to hire a plastic surgery marketing agency to help jumpstart these initiatives for you.

So what are some avenues you should investigate when marketing your new plastic surgery practice? Keep the goals in mind. For your new plastic surgery practice this will be to gain brand awareness in your community and attract patients.

  • Your website. Focus on creating a robust plastic surgery website that is built out with relevant content. This includes your bio, aesthetic and reconstructive offerings, address, contact info, etc. prior to launching your practice. The more information the better. At first, you may not have the bandwidth to commit to regularly updating a plastic surgery blog on your site, but keep it in mind for your ongoing marketing strategy. A plastic surgery blog is a great way to inform prospective patients on your offerings, create thought leadership, and help your website and your practice appear in Google searches from prospective patients.
  • Accurate location information. Secure your business listings on sites such as Google, Yahoo, Yelp, Facebook, etc. You want to be accessible for current and future patients. Phone numbers, your address, email and photos all can help direct a potential plastic surgery patient your way. Also make sure review websites have accurate information and that you track your reviews and encourage happy patients to review you!
  • An engaging and consistent social media presence. Pick and choose the right platform for you. Instagram is all about images and offers a medium where you can display both photos and videos. As plastic surgery is a very visual field, this social media platform can lend itself well for your business. Be careful not to underestimate the time it takes to maintain content across every social media platform that exists. It may be more important to focus one on medium consistently than spreading yourself too thin, attempting to have a presence across all platforms. That will do more harm than good. A profile page that lacks consistent updates can send a negative message to a potential patient considering your practice. Your social media profiles should reflect your brand and your vision for your practice.
  • Traditional print advertising. Despite what some may claim, print media is not dead, and it’s a great way to build awareness and relationships in the local community. Advertising in a high-end glossy magazine or taking out an ad in the local, but well-read newspaper may still serve a valuable purpose.
  • Public relations. Have the right combination of public relations in your marketing toolkit for added practice publicity. This can include everything from distributing a press release about your new practice to the local media, landing both local and industry speaking opportunities, sponsoring the local youth sports league or donating a gift basket to a nonprofit. Look for opportunities to become a thought leader in the local community, as well as the larger plastic surgery industry.

According to the rule of seven , you’ll find that plastic surgery marketing is an ongoing process, and your patients have to see and recognize the item or service multiple times over (usually seven, hence the name) before they take action. Word-of-mouth is invaluable and as you build up your patient-base, this will in turn grow your practice, making patient advocates critical to your success.

5. Opt for the best plastic surgery software to fit your workflow.

patient-with-medical-assistant-using-ipad-ehr

You’ll spend quite a bit of time in your practice and with your plastic surgery software , so you want to make sure you select the option best suited for your needs, your staff and your patients. Evaluate different options on the market, speak to current users of those systems, take a look at review websites like Software Advice , and meet members of the vendor’s team to see an in-person demo at an upcoming plastic surgery event. Much like you made a business plan for your practice, you should make a plan for evaluating plastic surgery EHR systems. Create a list of the features, requirements and questions you have before embarking on your plastic surgery software evaluation process.

patient-using-kiosk-in-plastic-surgery-practice

In addition to a plastic surgery EHR offering, consider the other tools you may need to run your business such as a practice management system, billing operations, analytics tools and patient engagement tools such as kiosk, portal, automated appointment reminders and surveys. Seek out a vendor that offers an all-in-one, integrated plastic surgery software solution. You’ll also want to think about accessibility to patient records as you switch between your practice, other offices and hospitals. Having a cloud-based EHR system that integrates with your practice management software may be critical to your mobility and patient care. It can save a whole lot of headaches and not to mention valuable time in the long run.

Starting a business comes with risks, but the rewards can be far greater. Having a solid plastic surgery business plan in place will help set the foundation for long-term success. Patience, persistent and sound business decisions like selecting the right location, a mix of aesthetic and reconstructive offerings, staff, marketing and technology are all determining factors that may help put your plastic surgery practice in the best possible position for long-term success.

Andrew Rosenthal, MD

Andrew Rosenthal, MD

Medical Director of Plastic Surgery

Dr. Andrew Rosenthal is the medical director of plastic surgery. He is a board-certified plastic surgeon who has been practicing in Palm Beach County since 2004.

Dr. Rosenthal attended undergraduate at Duke University, medical school at Tulane University and completed his internship at University of Miami. He completed his plastic & reconstructive surgery training at the University of Michigan and a two-year fellowship in craniofacial research in an NIH core lab. Dr. Rosenthal also created a device that helps prevent positional head deformities in children.

In addition to his clinical practice, he is principal investigator on several FDA drug trials aimed at reducing human scarring through mRNA and protein inhibition, as well as a consultant for insurance companies for case review. Dr. Rosenthal is president of the Reed O. Dingman Society, the alumni society of the section of Plastic Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center.

Dr. Rosenthal has received local and national recognition from ABC, NBS, PBS, CBS, Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Post and Boca Raton News particularly for his work with breast reconstruction and breast cancer fundraising. He is also a frequent guest on the Paul and Young Ron Show, the largest morning radio show in South Florida, as its “official plastic surgeon.”

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Starting a Successful Plastic Surgery Practice: A Step-By-Step Guide

business plan for surgery

If you’re considering starting a plastic surgery practice, you’re in the right place! Plastic surgery is a growing industry, and there’s plenty of room for new players.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps on how to start a plastic surgery practice.

So what are the steps?

  • Create your plastic surgery practice business plan
  • Get the necessary funding
  • Get the equipment you need to be successful
  • Find the perfect location
  • Hire the right staff

Build the perfect plastic surgery marketing plan

Create your plastic surgery practice business plan.

Creating a business plan is essential to starting any business. In order to create your plastic surgery business plan, you will need to do the following:

Write a Description of Your Business

This should include information such as what type of plastic surgery you will offer, the target market you plan to serve, the type of business you will have, and what makes your practice unique.

Choose What Type of Plastic Surgery You Will Offer

There are many different types of plastic surgery procedures you can offer. You will need to decide which ones you want to offer at your practice.

Some of the most popular plastic surgery procedures include:

  • Breast augmentation
  • Liposuction
  • Botox injections
  • Labiaplasty

For instance, Dr. Steinberg is a successful plastic surgeon who specializes in a specific practice of plastic surgery known as labiaplasty . This is just one facet of plastic surgery, and it important to decide what you will specialize in before moving forward with starting your own practice.

Choose the Type of Business You Will Have

The three main types of plastic surgery businesses are:

  • Private practices

Group Practices

  • Hospital-based practices

Private Practices

If you decide to open a private practice, you’ll be the sole owner of your business. You’ll have complete control over all aspects of the business, from setting prices to hiring staff.

The downside of owning a private practice is that you’ll also be solely responsible for all the costs associated with running the business. These costs can add up quickly, so it’s important to make sure you have the financial backing to sustain a private practice.

If you are going the private practice route, it might also benefit you to seek help from a medical marketing agency to assist with:

  • Understanding client needs
  • Accessing marketing channels
  • Communicating with physicians

A group practice is similar to a private practice, but there are multiple owners. This type of ownership can help spread the costs associated with running a business and also offer some built-in marketing (people are more likely to visit a practice with multiple surgeons).

The downside of owning a group practice is that you’ll have to share decision-making with the other owners. This can sometimes lead to disagreements and conflict within the business.

How to Start a Plastic Surgery Practice 2

Hospital-based Practices

If you decide to open a hospital-based practice, you’ll be employed by a hospital. This type of arrangement can offer some advantages, such as a built-in clientele and marketing opportunities.

The downside of hospital-based practices is that you’ll have less control over your work schedule and the types of procedures you’re able to perform. You’ll also be at the mercy of the hospital’s budget.

Create a Financial Plan

Your financial plan details your projected income and expenses. This will help you determine how much money you will need to start your practice and how much profit you can expect to make.

Conduct a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a tool that will help you to identify the:

  • Opportunities

This is an important step in creating your business plan as it will help you to understand the challenges and opportunities you’ll face as you get started

Get the Necessary Funding

One of the most important aspects of starting a plastic surgery practice is having the necessary funding.

This can come from a variety of sources, such as personal savings, loans, or grants. It’s important to do your research and find the right funding option for your specific situation.

There are many resources available to help you get started, so don’t hesitate to ask for help.

If you’re looking for a loan, there are a few things to keep in mind. Make sure you shop around and compare interest rates from different lenders. It’s also important to be aware of the terms of the loan, including the length of time you have to pay it back and any penalties for missed payments.

There are a number of different grant funding opportunities . The government offers a variety of grants through its Small Business Administration, and there are also a number of private organizations that offer grants for new businesses.

Be sure to research all your options and apply for as many grants as you qualify for.

Personal Savings

If you have the personal savings to cover the costs of starting your practice, this can be a great option. This will allow you to avoid taking on any debt and will give you complete control over your business.

However, it’s important to make sure you have enough saved up to cover all the costs associated with starting a business, as well as any unexpected startup costs to consider.

Get the Equipment you Need to be Successful

In order to be successful in your plastic surgery practice , you will need the proper equipment. This includes:

  • Surgical tools
  • Medical equipment
  • Office supplies
  • Computers and software

How to Start a Plastic Surgery Practice

When purchasing equipment, it is important to consider your needs and budget. You will want to make sure you have the necessary tools for performing procedures, as well as for sterilizing and storing equipment.

It is also important to have a comfortable and functional office space where patients can relax before and after their procedures.

Purchasing second-hand equipment may seem like a cost-saving measure, but it can be risky if the products are not in good condition. It is important to only do this from a trusted source. Ultimately, the success of your plastic surgery business will depend on the quality of your equipment.

By planning ahead and investing in the right equipment, you can ensure that your plastic surgery practice is off to a successful start.

Find the Perfect Location

One of the most important factors in starting a successful plastic surgery practice is finding the perfect location.

When choosing a location for your business , you’ll need to consider a variety of factors such as:

  • Cost of rent
  • Population size
  • Competition.

Cost of Rent

The cost of rent is an important factor to consider when choosing a location for your plastic surgery practice. You’ll want to find a space that is affordable, yet still in a convenient location for patients.

Population Size

The population size of the area you choose will also be an important factor to consider. You’ll want to make sure there is a large enough population to support your business.

Competition

Another important factor to consider when choosing a location is the level of competition.

If there are already a number of plastic surgery practices in the area, you’ll need to be sure that your practice can offer something unique that will attract patients.

You’ll also want to make sure that the location you choose is accessible and has a good reputation .

Hire the Right Staff

A huge step in starting a plastic surgery practice is making sure that you hire the right staff. This includes finding:

  • A plastic surgeon with proper qualifitions and certifications
  • Support staff

It is important to take the time to interview potential candidates and to check their references thoroughly. It is also important to create a positive work environment that encourages teamwork and cooperation.

Hiring a Plastic Surgeon

In 2021, the average plastic surgeon performed 320 surgical procedures . This means that you’ll need to be sure you have a qualified surgeon who is able to handle a high volume of work. You’ll also need to make sure that your staff is adequately trained in plastic surgery procedures and safety protocols.

Hiring Nurses Nurses

Nurses play a vital role in the success of any medical practice. They are responsible for pre- and post-operative care, as well as helping to ensure that patients are comfortable and safe during their procedures.

When hiring nurses, you’ll want to make sure that they have experience in plastic surgery and that they are up-to-date on all of the latest safety protocols.

Hiring Support Staff

In addition to nurses, you’ll also need to hire support staff for your plastic surgery practice. This includes:

  • Office staff
  • Receptionists
  • Administrative assistants.

These individuals will be responsible for keeping your practice running smoothly on a day-to-day basis.

Starting a Plastic Surgery Practice

When it comes to marketing your plastic surgery practice, it’s important to think outside the box and be creative. One of the best ways to get the word out about your business is to create a marketing plan that targets your specific audience. This is important to grow your plastic surgery practice . Here are a few tips for building a successful marketing plan:

Outline Your Marketing Strategy

This should include details on how you plan to attract new patients, as well as how you will retain current patients .

Some marketing strategies you may want to consider include:

  • Developing a strong online presence
  • Creating informative blog posts and articles
  • Using social media to reach a wider audience
  • Engaging in local community events.

Make Sure Your Website is Up-to-Date

Your website is your primary tool for marketing your practice, so make sure it looks professional and is easy to navigate. Be sure to include information about your services, team, and office location. You should also include testimonials from satisfied patients.

Use Social Media to Reach Potential Patients

Social media is a powerful marketing tool that can be used to reach a wide audience. Be sure to create profiles on all the major social networking sites and post regular updates about your practice. You can also use social media to run promotions and offer discounts on your services.

Make sure your profiles are up-to-date and include high-quality images of your work.

Develop a Strong Branding Strategy

Branding is key when it comes to attracting new patients. Some important branding elements to consider include your:

  • Social media profiles
  • Business cards

Your branding should be consistent across all of your marketing materials, from your website to your business cards. By developing a strong branding strategy, you can make your plastic surgery practice stand out from the competition.

Invest in Advertising

Paid advertising can be a great way to reach new patients who may not have heard of you before. Choose wisely and target your ads towards people who are likely to be interested in cosmetic surgery.

Stay Active in the Community

Get involved with local events and organizations, and participate in charity work. This is a great way to raise awareness about your practice and connect with potential patients on a personal level.

In Conclusion

Starting a successful plastic surgery practice takes time, effort, and planning. By following these tips, you can set your business up for success from the start.

Have you ever thought about starting your own plastic surgery practice? Do you have any tips for starting your own practice? Let us know in the comments below!

Frequently Asked Questions

A: The cost of starting a plastic surgery practice will vary depending on a number of factors, such as the location of your practice, the staff you hire, and your marketing budget. However, you can expect to spend at least several thousand dollars on getting your business up and running.

A: The amount of time it takes to start a plastic surgery practice will also vary depending on the factors mentioned above. However, you can typically expect the process of starting your business to take at least several months.

A: Some common challenges of starting a plastic surgery practice include choosing the type of business you want to run, finding the right people to hire, developing a budget to start with, and getting the word out about your business.

A: To make your plastic surgery practice successful it is important to have the right equipment, staff, and vision in mind so that you can attract new clients while maintaining consistency.

A: There are many ways to attract new patients to your plastic surgery practice. Some of the most effective methods include using social media, developing a strong branding strategy, and investing in advertising.

A: If you are interested in starting a career in plastic surgery, the first step is to complete a residency program in plastic surgery. After completing your residency, you will then be eligible to take the board certification exam. Once you are certified, you can begin practicing plastic surgery.

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Drafting a budget: Start with a business plan

Creating a budget for an ambulatory surgery center can be an intimidating task for even the most senior of management. With so many factors to consider—staffing, projected case volume and upcoming equipment purchases, just to name a few—many are tempted to dive in, crunch some numbers, and cross it off their to-do list as quickly as possible. But drafting a budget becomes a far less daunting process if some pre-budgeting work is finished first. Before the barrage of numbers and spreadsheets, it is critical to examine the ASC on a qualitative basis. By completing a comprehensive analysis of the center, its community, and the larger ASC landscape within the healthcare industry, ASC leaders can create a far more realistic and practical budget for the year(s) ahead. Sometimes called a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), this review of an ASC’s current capabilities and future goals is critical to provide a basic framework for a reliable budget. Below are three steps to take before even opening the budgeting software to ensure a highly accurate and well-organized financial plan:

Define internal strengths and weaknesses

As Harvard Business Review writes, whether you are leading a startup or an established company, “information about an organization’s internal capabilities is crucial to informing your goals and strategy and making the right business decisions.” This is true for international corporations and local medical facilities alike. It is critical to determine an ASC’s strengths before heading into a new year and a new budget: Is the ASC’s strength its people, and therefore funds should be shifted away from recruitment and more toward retention? Equally as important, what are the center’s weaknesses? Is some of its technology outdated, and will it need to be replaced? Are reimbursements for its service lines decreasing, and are there other, more profitable specialties senior leaders could introduce? Knowing this information is critical to not only improving the organization’s operational efficiency, patient care capabilities and growth opportunities, but also to thoughtfully compiling an informed, specific and highly accurate budget.

Identify external opportunities and threats

According to a report by the University of California at Berkeley, the next step in creating a comprehensive business plan and associated budget is finding “the opportunities for growth, greater profit, and larger market share. Assessing opportunity in relation to competition is imperative.” This is especially pertinent in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry. Not only did the number of ASCs in the U.S. double between 2000 and 2010, but healthcare analytics firm Sg2’s 2015 growth forecast report predicts surgeries performed in an outpatient setting will grow by 19 percent between 2015 and 2025, while the number of inpatient procedures will be reduced by 4 percent. With this expected amount of growth in such a dynamic landscape, it is critical to measure both opportunities to expand in local communities and achieve new growth, and accurately assess potential threats in the community, region or overall industry itself. What trends are occurring that may impact your ASC’s growth rate, productivity or success? What chances do ASC leaders have to expand their service offerings, and their overall capacity to serve their patient pool? ASC leaders must proactively measure and track this data to generate an accurate budget that allocates funds toward reaching for growth opportunities, while compensating for possible losses of business due to external threats.

Examine the year’s projected “bumps”

After determining the ASC’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, there is one final step to take to complete the action plan and, from there, build out a budget. This final step is an in-depth analysis of any expected “bumps” in the upcoming year. This includes equipment replacements, equipment purchases for new or expanding service lines, and any retirements among key staff members, especially senior physicians. For example, if Physician A has been a senior physician at the ASC for 10-plus years and has decided to retire, how will the organization compensate for this loss? Will you fill the gap with a new physician, moving funds toward recruitment and training efforts? Will you perhaps wind down whatever service/specialty he offered, and allocate the funds toward launching a new specialty at the facility? This is where examining the reimbursement landscape becomes essential. How can you cater the ASC to offer the most profitable and necessary procedures for your particular community? Because the payor mix will not change dramatically from year to year, it is critical to examine the industry overall and position the ASC for success in the market. This may include increasing physician productivity; for example, if Physician B did 500 cases last year, what do we think he can do next year, and how can we encourage him to complete this goal? Looking for the key drivers of the facility and ways to increase operational efficiency, including picking up lost cases and filling gaps in patient care, is essential to allocate funds appropriately in a well-planned budget. To learn more about creating a successful business plan and operating budget, please contact [email protected] .

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business plan for surgery

Ambulatory Surgery Center’s Business Plan Essay

Executive summary.

This is a business plan for a 300-bed community hospital with a hundred physicians and twenty surgeons. There is a new space in the hospital that will be turned into an outpatient surgery center. This business plan explores how this outpatient surgery center can be designed and the number of patients it will take and its strengths, weaknesses, threats, and operations.

Market Analysis

The main marketing mix for this center includes people who need surgery. This can include people who have traumas such as broken bones or lacerations from emergencies (Ambulatory Surgery Centers in the US…, 2016). It can also include orthopedic and cataract surgery and other surgical procedures such as tumor removal (Ambulatory Surgery Centers in the US…, 2016). The center will be able to handle the surgical needs of many patients with its twenty surgeons and other employees in place for nursing, sterilization, and rehabilitation. Many of these patients will be referred by the hospital, allowing for the patient flow to include patients that the hospital does not have the time to care for.

The outpatient surgery center is a perspective direction of modern medicine. Plenty of operations that previously required a long hospital treatment are now done in outpatient conditions for one or several days. The popularity of ambulatory surgery centers is huge (Boodman, 2014).

They have been rising in popularity since the 1970s (Ambulatory Surgery Centers in the US…, 2016). But there are many concerns about the legitimacy and safety of such centers following the death of Joan Rivers, who was undergoing treatment at such a center in Manhattan (Boodman, 2014). These safety concerns can be assuaged by proper certification for the center as well as highly qualified staff overseen by the hospital’s large surgery staff of twenty surgeons. The supervising staff can prevent violations of accreditation that led to Joan Rivers’s death (Boodman, 2014).

The paramount mission of the center for outpatient surgery is the extension of health care opportunities for patients providing surgical treatment quickly, efficiently, and in a comfortable environment. The reduction of the time and cost of the treatment occurs due to the use of high-tech equipment and minimally invasive techniques (Al-Amin & Housman, 2012). Therefore, the center for outpatient surgery is an effective clinical and organizational direction of development for modern medicine and public health. The patient flow should be optimized by minimizing the waits and delays.

Any medical activity is subject to compulsory licensing. To obtain a license, the potential outpatient surgery center should have an appropriate space, a list of necessary medical equipment, and staff with valid certificates (Mercier & Philip, 2009). The consideration of the application takes place within two months. The license applies only to a specific address. The difficulty lies in the fact that each health care service requires a separate license. A specially created registry can maintain the necessary documentation, registration, in particular, temporary disability materials, regulate the flow of the primary flow of patients, receive calls as well as manage the implementation of hospitalization and the solution of transportation issues.

Employees needed per operating room include one RN, one scrub tech, four pre-op RNs, four post-op RNs, two registration clerks, one custodian, two sterilization clerks, and a receptionist with knowledge of medical billing and coding. All employees must have proper training and licenses in their fields (Accreditation Organizations, 2016). The center itself must maintain standards set by the American Association of Accreditation for Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, HFAP, and Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (Accreditation Organizations, 2016).

The American Association of Accreditation for Ambulatory Surgery Facilities measures and monitors medical competence, Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care uses peer-based measurements to accredit facilities, and HFAP surveys hospitals for quality of care and medical competence (Accreditation Organizations, 2016). The outpatient center must provide care and have certified and licensed employees able to provide the quality of care needed for these organizations to approve the center for accreditation so that it can be a trusted and safe source of healthcare.

Aspects of meeting physician needs on both the surgery center’s performance and that of the main operating room in the hospital should also be thoroughly considered. To avoid any misunderstanding, it is essential to provide investigations and elaborate on a uniform standard of health care provision.

Training and Certification

Advances in technology, globalization, and constant organizational transformation are forcing medical centers and their employees to learn and acquire new skills in developing new business models to work with new technologies. In order not to lose their competitive edge, medical centers have to constantly increase the pace of acquisition of necessary knowledge and skills. Such a need pushes the center’s management with a dilemma: on the one hand, employees need more training hours, but in the framework of constant change, the number of hours devoted to training is strictly limited. In this connection, the surgical learning is the best solution to the problem.

Using this approach, the maximum efficiency will be achieved through the training of specialists empowering the development and implementation of short and narrowly focused lessons that are required for surgeons and employees.

The basic idea of ​​surgical training in this business plan is based on the fact that employees do not need comprehensive training concerning the new technology or program (Maruthappu, Duclos, Lipsitz, Orgill, & Carty, 2015). However, they need to learn more specific aspects related to the current operation. The reduced content should be transformed into short courses that are fast to develop and easy to use. Short training programs are more easily integrated into the working schedule of the staff. The attendance of training courses will be increased by the fact that the programs are short and more interesting. As a result, one will receive the progressive ambulatory surgical center with trained and certified staff.

Construction

Construction factors are another large consideration. Constructing a new space will include the cost of construction. But it will also include zoning and bringing the building up to code according to city requirements. The design of the building must make it very handicap accessible since many patients may be in wheelchairs or will be after surgery. Parking should be ample and easy to access for patients (Boodman, 2014). The design of the outpatient surgery center should follow the overall design of the hospital as a part of it. All the rooms should be equipped with special chairs and other utilities necessary for the pre- and post-operation periods.

The number of operating rooms should be approximately seven to provide timely surgeries. At the same time, the center should include physician space, in other words, changing rooms, workspace for paperwork and staff space such as changing rooms. It is also important to point out that the creation of a break room for relaxation will reduce the stress level of employees. Its design should be performed in green as such color contributes to the pacification and comfort.

The billing system should be organized appropriately to guarantee the calculating costs of medical services queries to the insurance companies and their processing. The center should be attached to the hospital to ensure timely health care services and control of the post-operational period.

The equipment of the center for outpatient surgery will allow providing virtually the entire spectrum of surgical operations from the day surgery category. In particular, the following equipment is necessary to provide the appropriate treatment:

  • endoscopic equipment for endosurgery;
  • holmium laser that was previously inaccessible under the conditions of ambulatory operations to treat diseases of the bladder wall using it as a laser scalpel;
  • ultrasound devices in both the operating and observation rooms;
  • medical facilities including apparatus for RFA and EVLT, heart monitor and/or a pulse ox meter, blood pressure monitors, ventilation apparatus, defibrillator, operating table, medical couch;
  • consumables: disposable kits for the operating field, intravenous catheters, gloves, etc.;
  • sterilization equipment;
  • medicines according to the profile of the medical center;
  • anesthetic equipment, equipment tracking, monitors, and others will ensure the high-quality of operations using all the possible kinds of general and local anesthesia. For example, equipment installed for the anesthesiologist and expert classes will include the anesthesia-breathing apparatus of Draeger.

Daycare chambers will be equipped with functional beds, Ventilator Puritan Bennett 560, and oxygen concentrators. The installed equipment will allow monitoring the condition of the patient transmitted from the operating room and to react promptly to any deviation from the norm.

The main costs for the implementation of the business plan will relate to equipment and facilities as well as the medicine purchase. When planning costs, the fact that the center will be inactive during the licensing period should also be taken into account. Staff costs related to wages include the monthly labor costs of personnel and tax rates. Capital expenditures include the following expenses:

  • The building of premises for the outpatient surgery center, design, and repair facilities;
  • Equipment, furniture, air-conditioning, and ventilation system.

Fixed costs related to the work of the center will comprise:

  • Production costs include the cost of materials for the surgery complex, repair costs, clothing for staff;
  • Administrative and office expenses such as utilities, current expenses for office supplies and materials for office equipment, security alarm);
  • The total labor costs;
  • Constant marketing costs.

Also, electricity, thermal energy, and other resources should be considered while planning costs.

A significant strength would be its attachment to the hospital. Many patients express misgivings about going to ambulatory surgery centers because they are not “real hospitals,” like the fears expressed by Wendy Salo (Boodman, 2014). Being attached to a hospital with such a reputable staff of surgeons can help ease the concern of some patients. It can also provide more outpatient services with a hospital affiliation (Ambulatory Surgery Centers in the US, 2016).

One of the most important advantages is the unloading of hospital beds by transferring part of routine surgical interventions in terms of health centers, which operates in the hospital structure. At the same time, the organization of early discharge of patients from the hospital with subsequent follow-up care in the clinic would benefit both the center and patients (Merrill & Laur, 2010). All patients will be placed in the superior chambers equipped with modern facilities and are under round the clock supervision of qualified medical staff so that they will feel comfortable and calm. Moreover, the postoperative complications in the surgical day hospitals are on average less than 1 percent (Carey, Burgess, & Young, 2011).

The quality of operations in the outpatient surgery center is defined by experienced surgeons and nurses. Comparing volumes of the main operation room with those of the outpatient environment, one might note the increased capacity of the latter.

What is more, one might note such advantages as follows:

  • reduction of wait times of patients. Outpatient surgery centers have shorter wait times and fewer budgetary constraints (Ambulatory Surgery Centers in the US, 2016);
  • the release of specialized surgical hospital beds for the treatment of clinically complex patients;
  • the same surgeon holds the complete continuity of the examination and treatment of patients – preoperative preparation, surgery, postoperative treatment until the patient’s hospital discharge;
  • patients stay at home in a habitual environment (Grisel & Arjmand, 2009);
  • active lifestyle contributes to the rapid recovery;
  • reducing the probability of in-hospital infections and thromboembolic complications in patients;
  • significant financial savings (ASCs: A Positive Trend in Health Care, n.d.).

The primary weakness is its affiliation with a hospital. While this is a strength, it doubles as a weakness. Another weakness is the need for the center to be constructed. Construction costs, zoning, and time are all involved in the construction process, which can be a weakness for the center.

The content of operations of the ambulatory surgery center is determined by the variety of forms of its activity:

  • The outpatient center is part of the overall hospital, but it will be its separate entity (Pickles, 2015). This means that the center will have its financial statements. It also requires a deep understanding of the regional health care delivery system to provide legally and ethically sound care (Pickles, 2015).
  • Selection of patients with surgical diseases among the population including the workers and employees of industrial enterprises, institutions, and other organizations;
  • Implementation of permanent relationships with the clinics and dispensaries;
  • Clinical diagnostic study of supervised patients using modern methods and equipment;
  • Consultative reception of patients of surgical clinics and dispensaries for the selection of patients requiring surgical treatment; definition of the indications for surgery, preoperative examination, the scope of the operation, and capabilities;
  • Diagnostic use of invasive techniques, the performance of operations according to the approved list, the observation of patients operated on in the next few hours after surgery in the recovery room of the hospital, day surgery follow-up treatment at home;
  • Comprehensive treatment of patients with surgical diseases including drug and infusion treatment, the use of extended wear bandages, physiotherapy, plasmapheresis, medication blockade, and the necessary range of rehabilitation measures (Starr, 2012);
  • Organization of follow-up care for operated patients for timely implementation of the necessary therapeutic and preventive measures to prevent disability and reduce its period. Research and comprehensive assessment of the short- and long-term results of the surgical treatment and the development of evidence-based recommendations.
  • Further training of surgeons and nursing, training of graduates of medical institutions.

The main threats include competition with other hospitals and other centers. This can especially be an issue with a large amount of distrust people feel for outpatient surgery centers (Boodman, 2014). Competing with other organizations can entail providing the best care possible. It can also involve providing a more comfortable and compassionate environment that will be memorable to patients in their difficult and often scary times of receiving surgery.

Initial capital requirements are one of the biggest threats facing ASCs (Ambulatory Surgery Centers in the US: Market Research Report, 2016). Being part of a hospital can help this center establish the capital needed to get started. Still, it will be a major financial endeavor.

One of the other project risks is associated with possible changes in the financial situation in the country due to the influence of internal or external factors. One more threat category may include a possible increase in costs and timing on the establishment of the center’s services or a possible reduction or increase in prices for services.

The probable management risks are related primarily to the inability of managers or a team to implement the project objectives and to achieve goals set in the business plan. The reduction of this type of risk is largely determined by the effective selection of personnel. To reduce this type of risk, it is possible to use the potential of an employment agency as well as the use of the resource business consultants, who have extensive experience in implementing projects.

Other risks include all kinds of risks of natural disasters, other force majeure related to property damage, and clients’ lawsuits in connection with human error. The above risks are easily minimized through insurance mechanisms. Based on the foregoing, all of the project risks can be regarded as moderate which is quite acceptable for the successful implementation of this business plan. Finally, taking into account all the above issues, it seems possible to implement the business plan within half a year.

Accreditation Organizations. (2016). Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. Web.

Al-Amin, M., & Housman, M. (2012). Ambulatory surgery center and general hospital competition. Health Care Management Review, 37 (3), 223-234.

Ambulatory Surgery Centers in the US: Market Research Report . (2016). IBIS World. Web.

ASCs: A Positive Trend in Health Care. (n.d.). Advancing Surgical Care . Web.

Boodman, S. (2014). Popularity of Ambulatory Surgery Centers Leads to Questions about Safety . Kaiser Health News. Web.

Carey, K., Burgess, J. F., & Young, G. J. (2011). Hospital competition and financial performance: The effects of ambulatory surgery centers. Health Economics, 20 (5), 571-581.

Grisel, J., & Arjmand, E. (2009). Comparing quality at an ambulatory surgery center and a hospital-based facility: Preliminary findings. Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, 141 (6), 701-709.

Maruthappu, M., Duclos, A., Lipsitz, S. R., Orgill, D., & Carty, M. J. (2015). Surgical learning curves and operative efficiency: A cross-specialty observational study. BMJ Open, 5 (1), 1-7.

Mercier, D., & Philip, M. (2009). Is Your Ambulatory Surgery Center Licensed, Accredited or Certified? ASA Monitor, 72 (8), 10-14.

Merrill, D. G., & Laur, J. J. (2010). Management by Outcomes: Efficiency and Operational Success in the Ambulatory Surgery Center. Anesthesiology Clinics, 28 (2), 329-351.

Pickles, V. (2015). Strategic Planning for Your Surgery Center. Ophthalmology Management.

Starr, C. (2012). Ambulatory Surgical Centers: Good for You and Your Patients . Medscape . Web.

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IvyPanda. (2020, August 30). Ambulatory Surgery Center's Business Plan. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ambulatory-surgery-centers-business-plan/

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IvyPanda . 2020. "Ambulatory Surgery Center's Business Plan." August 30, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ambulatory-surgery-centers-business-plan/.

1. IvyPanda . "Ambulatory Surgery Center's Business Plan." August 30, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ambulatory-surgery-centers-business-plan/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Ambulatory Surgery Center's Business Plan." August 30, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ambulatory-surgery-centers-business-plan/.

  • Facility Research and Selection in Healthcare
  • Financing of a New Ambulatory Surgery Center
  • Outpatient vs. Inpatient Care Infection Rate and Safety
  • The Oregon Health Plan
  • Key Issues with Healthcare Organization Professionals
  • Clinical Support Services Management
  • National Standard of Care and Healthcare Licensing
  • Medical Programs, Health Policy and Law in the US

ProfitableVenture

Robotic Surgery Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business Plans » Technology Sector

Robotic Surgery Business

Are you about starting a robotic surgery company? If YES, here is a detailed sample robotic surgery business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE .

Immediately the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Intuitive Surgical Inc.’s da Vinci surgical system in 2000, revenue for the Robotic Surgery Equipment Manufacturing industry went up with it. Robotic surgery equipment is most commonly used during complex surgical procedures that may be arduous to navigate without the use of 3D imaging that provides real-time feedback to surgeons.

These technologies have become a staple in the US healthcare system. Reports have it that more than 4,500 hospitals had installed da Vinci systems by December 2018. Healthcare providers and patients alike have favored robot-assisted surgery due to quicker patient recovery times, less blood loss and less pain. Over 5,000 surgical robots were used in more than 1 million procedures worldwide in the last year.

These procedures spanned orthopedics, urology, general surgery, gynecology, neurology, thoracic, otolaryngology, bariatric, rectal and colon, multiple oncologies – even dental implants and hair transplants. Robotic surgery is no longer seen as a technology of the future – it’s an active and effective technology of today.

A Sample Robotics Surgery Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

According to industry data, the global robotic surgical procedures market was valued at USD 3,912.2 Million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD 13,271.6 Million by the end of 2025, showing a CAGR of 16.6 percent. Businesses in the robotic surgical systems market are specializing on constant innovation and upgrading their portfolio with new and advanced product offerings.

Meanwhile, a growing number of patients undergoing surgical procedures, rising shift of healthcare providers towards minimally invasive surgical procedures, and rising adoption of robotic surgical systems in developed and emerging countries are some of the key factors expected to drive the number of robotic-assisted surgical procedures being performed globally.

Also, the introduction of new and economical robotic surgical systems is projected to propel the growth of robotic surgical procedures in developed as well as emerging countries, subsequently driving the growth in the market during the forecast period 2018-2025.

New application areas of robot assisted surgical procedures are one of the key prominent driving factors for the growth of the global robotic surgical procedures market in 2017.

Experts expect the gynecology segment to have the biggest market share among application types. Gynecology accounted for a market share of 28.7 percent in 2017. While, it differs in different regions as which procedure type is performed more, gynecology was estimated as largest preferred robot-assisted surgical procedure.

It is also important to state that the orthopedics application segment is projected to rise at a faster CAGR during forecast period. This speed is attributed to the rising number of new product introductions designed specifically for orthopedic procedures.

Presently, there are a small number of orthopedic surgical procedures being performed using surgical robots, but this is expected to grow at a significantly high CAGR during the forecast period.

Reports have it that North America generated revenue of US$ 3,070.7 Mn in 2017, and is expected to account for a substantial share in the global robotic surgical procedures market during the forecast period. Note that the growth experienced in the region is likely to be driven by increase adoption and growing application areas of robot-assisted surgeries.

In developed countries, the penetration of robotic surgical systems is increasing along with the number of surgical procedures being performed.

Meanwhile, in emerging countries such as india and China, the adoption of surgical robots is fueling the growth in the market during forecast period. In Asian countries like China and India, the robotic surgical systems are mostly used for urology. But, the adoption in other application areas such as orthopedic, neurology, general surgery, and gynecology is also booming.

2. Executive Summary

Meditech, Inc. is a medical robotics manufacturing company that plans to design, patent, and market medical robotic devices related to endoscopic surgical niche markets. We at Meditech, with the participation of renowned physicians and surgeons in gastroenterology have already designed two devices.

Five patents are initially incorporated. Robotic surgery equipment are most commonly used during complex surgical procedures that may be nearly impossible to navigate without the use of 3D imaging that provides real-time feedback to surgeons.

With our well planned business strategy, we project $21 million in sales in year three and an impressive $65 million in revenue by year five.

We have successfully submitted patent applications for our first two market entries leveraging a top patent law firm. We will also strive to win low interest loans and grants from the government of the USA totaling $1.8 million in our first year.

Meditech Inc. is currently located at Downtown Water front district Rochester, Minnesota. Our office is presently leased month-to-month on a temporary basis. This business plan calls for the establishment of corporate offices, R&D facilities, and prototype and small-run manufacturing facilities.

Note that these facilities are to be located in Rochester with 10,000 sq. ft. initially expandable to 25,000 sq. Ft. Our market segments at Meditech are explicitly defined and all are subject to a high growth trend.

Reports have it that one of our key markets is expected to surpass $430 million in the next few years. One of our founders at Meditech was part of the team that designed the current market leader in that field and has improved upon the product significantly. A new and innovative design has been created to answer the needs of surgeons.

From our extensive research, this market is expected to begin at $14 million but could expand to several hundred million as soon as approvals are obtained for varied surgical procedures. We also plan to license this technology to a large company. We hopefully expect Meditech to become profitable in year one only if a proposed licensing agreement can be closed.

3. Our Products and Services

We at Meditech Inc. will develop and market endoscopic medical devices using various distribution channels both foreign and domestic. We are currently developing our patent-applied technologies to the final product. We also plan to establish our brand and corporate identity in the medical products field. All our product areas may be more generally defined as follows:

  • Endoscopy Devices: There are used for esophageal variceal ligation, hemorrhoidal ligation. Mainly consisting of ligating bands with greater stretch ability and grip (Super-Elastic bands incorporated into a multi-band dispensing device).
  • Endoscopy Devices: These devices are used for lysis (tissue dissolving). Mainly consisting of a rotary cutting tool to clear fundal pools of blood in the stomach.
  • Endoscopy Devices: Mostly used for suction/irrigation and tissue removal. Mainly consisting of a suction/irrigation tool to remove tissue effectively.

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

  • Our vision at Meditech Inc. is to provide products and services of uncompromising quality and to comfortably achieve a 25 percent market penetration in the endoscopic variceal ligation market by year five.
  • Our mission at Meditech Inc.is to design, develop, and market new patented technologies in the medical robotics and equipment field. All our technologies at Meditech will compliment market niches that each account for a minimum of $14 million dollars in potential sales.

Every of our technology will take care of a current need in medical procedure by improving upon an existing technology or device, or by designing a device to serve a need that is clearly defined and acknowledged by medical professionals.

Our Business Structure

Meditech is a medical robotics manufacturing firm founded by Alice Shaw and Anthony Miller. Alice will serve the company as Vice-President of Research & Development. Anthony will serve as Vice-President of Corporate Development. We are presently actively seeking several key people, including a CEO.

Our desired profile is for a CEO experienced in the medical device arena, ideally who was part of a previous start-up venture that grew to exceed a minimum of $14 million in sales and had a successful exit strategy. The CEO will help to identify and bring in a VP of Sales and Marketing).

Alice will handle responsibility for R&D, design, compliance, and initial manufacturing and sourcing. Anthony will handle strategic growth plans, capitalization, and serve as CFO initially. Also, design engineers and compliance documentation personnel will all report to Alice. We plan to let some of these portfolios be handled by outside consultants in the early going. The ramp-up of essential personnel and tasks are outlined below.;

Chief Executive Officer

Vice-President of Research & Development

Vice-President of Corporate Development

Vice President Sales and Marketing

  • Design engineers

Client Service Executive

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

  • Tasked with building the firm’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counselling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results
  • Tasked with providing direction for the business
  • Will also be tasked with creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
  • Tasked with signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
  • Evaluates the success of the organization
  • Works as the project manager of the organization; works directly with employees
  • Tasked with designing advertising concepts and winning business proposals for the organization
  • Tasked with copy writing and laying out chronological business plans
  • Tasked with developing strategic plan by studying technological and financial opportunities; presenting assumptions; recommending objectives.
  • Tasked with accomplishing subsidiary objectives by establishing plans, budgets, and results measurements
  • Tasked with building company image by collaborating with customers, government, community organizations, and employees; enforcing ethical business practices.
  • Obligated to maintain quality service by establishing and enforcing organization standards.
  • Tasked with maintaining professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; benchmarking state-of-the-art practices; participating in professional societies.
  • Tasked with making sure that the organization work in line with international best practices.
  • Tasked with handling media planning, buying & representation
  • Tasked with creating advertising campaigns
  • Tasked with disseminating advertising campaigns through available mediums, such as TV, Radio and periodicals et al
  • Tasked with handling core digital services such as brand affinity, banner advertising, video advertising, rich media advertising, sponsorship advertising, classifieds/directories, lead generation, mobile messaging/email, digital display advertising, mobile advertising, social media management
  • Handle other related media and advertising advisory and consulting services
  • Tasked with overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
  • Will have to define job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
  • Tasked with carrying out induction for new team members
  • Tasked with training, evaluation and assessment of employees
  • Obligated to model demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer
  • Should be able to identify development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
  • Writing winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
  • Tasked with handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
  • Create new markets cum businesses for the organization
  • Empower and motivates the sales team to meet and surpass agreed targets
  • Tasked with preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
  • Tasked with providing the company management with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports
  • Tasked with financial forecasting and risks analysis
  • Should be able to perform cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties
  • Tasked with developing and managing financial systems and policies
  • Tasked with administering payrolls
  • Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
  • Handles all financial transactions for Meditech Inc.
  • Serves as internal auditor for Meditech Inc.

Design Engineers

  • Tasked with creating content for the organization as it relates to manufacturing and product offerings
  • Tasked with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Tasked with welcoming clients and potential clients by greeting them in person, online or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
  • Makes sure that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
  • Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
  • Manages administrative duties assigned by the creative director in an effective and timely manner
  • Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information are supplied to clients when they make enquiries.

6. SWOT Analysis

From our extensive research, large companies with established brand names and distribution patterns have a distinct advantage in this field. Product cost in and of itself is not paramount but education and training are. We believe that every product must deliver performance as promised in order to do a procedure more effectively with the fewest complications.

We’ve taken our time to analyze our strengths and weakness in our market. After thorough analysis and hard work from our management, we at Meditech Inc. present a summary of our SWOT Analysis;

  • The Initial capitalization acquired.
  • All patent applications filed.
  • Our company’s ability to generate early revenue from non-regulated markets outside the united states.
  • Licensing at least one technology and application to a major medical device corporation.
  • Obtaining low interest loans and/or grants to fully fund product development and prototype manufacture.
  • Recruiting top-notch CEO prior to second round financing and market roll-out.
  • Successful implementation of sales and marketing plan to U.S. managed care market to obtain a minimum 15 percent market share in the second full year to generate $21 million in revenue.
  • Increased product development and continued market share gains to produce a $65 million revenue company by year five.

A rapid increase in the trade-weighted index indicates the appreciation of the US dollar. As a result, robotic surgery equipment manufactured domestically becomes relatively more expensive for global downstream markets. In 2019, the trade-weighted index is expected to increase, posing a potential threat to industry operators.

  • Opportunities

Health insurance coverage is a key variable in determining patients’ access to robotic surgery. Many health insurance providers, including Medicare, cover minimally invasive procedures such as robot-assisted surgery. Furthermore, Medicare may reimburse hospitals’ purchase of robotic surgery equipment, which it considers a capital expense for critical-access hospitals. In 2019, federal funding for Medicare and Medicaid is expected to increase, representing a potential opportunity for industry operators.

According to our SWOT analysis, the slow adoption rate of new technologies and products does not favor our intended products and services at Meditech Inc. It also noted that raising the funds we need to build our business will be another threat that will limit our success.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

  • Market Trend

According to reports, Intuitive Surgical Inc., emerged as the leading player with the highest market share in 2017, as the company has highest installed base of its flagship product da Vinci surgical system. Note that a significantly high installed base in the U.S. and other European countries have been the key for the company.

In addition, Intuitive Surgical Inc., is continuously getting approvals for new application areas for da Vinci surgical system. Other players operating in the robotic surgical procedures market are Zimmer Biomet, Stryker Corporation, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew, Accuracy Incorporated, CMR Surgical Ltd., Avatera Medical GmbH, Verb Surgical Inc., etc.

We also noted that the healthcare industry in the United States has been dominated by managed care and hospital buying groups. Lowest total cost treatment has been the evolution of the pricing model. We are ideally positioned to capitalize on this trend.

There has been a rapid trend to endoscopic variceal ligation from the previous norm of sclerotherapy for the following reasons: fewer post-op complications, better control of bleeding, lower risk of re-bleeding and reduction of over-all treatment cost.

We also believe that the two key factors influencing discussion of Meditech Inc.’s market are the medical procedures and product usage statistics and the customer or chain of distribution considerations. But in both cases, the trends are upwards in the favor of our company.

8. Our Target Market

Our target market at Meditech, Inc. is both domestic and foreign. Our domestic customers’ consist of managed care groups, hospital buying groups, physician groups, independent physicians, and other (catalogues) and medical supply houses. The market is dominated by managed care groups. More than 65 percent of all purchases of medical devices are made by these groups and that is forecast to reach 80 percent by the year 2023.

Our foreign market includes many of the above segments but also includes key distributors. For instance, only four distributors are required to penetrate the European, Middle Eastern, African, Central and South American and Japanese markets. These distributors have already been identified.

Our plans for future development at Meditech include additional ideas and technologies to be created by Alice Shaw VP of R&D for Meditech. Also, Meditech may seek to acquire technologies developed by others once it attains sufficient capitalization to do so.

It is our dream and objective at Meditech to both innovate and market our products. Once an industry reputation has been achieved and marketing channels opened expansion into other medical device areas becomes potentially rewarding.

  • Our competitive advantage

We at Meditech, Inc. boost of various potential product sources. One potential source for additional research and design help and compliance is QuickHealth Supplies in Tulsa. We will perform final assembly and distribution from our own facility in Rochester or leverage contract manufacturing depending on the extent of financial support from the government of Minnesota.

Alfredand Noni is the patent attorney for Meditech, Inc. Four patents have been authored and filed. All patents take into account both offensive and defensive postures in their claims. Without any single doubt, opinion of legal counsel is strong and firm that all of our patent applications are enforceable and defensible.

We have taken time to take into account all potential claims of the inventions as well as to protect them from possible competition from other technologies (including inferior ones). Note that all patent application documents are available for examination by potential investors. Also available is the assignment of all patents in the medical device field by Alice Shaw to Meditech, Inc.

The first two patents listed above relate to the Endo-Band. The last two relate to the Endo-Gator. Trademark application has been filed on the name Meditech. Trademark applications are in process on the names Endo-Band, Endo-Gator, and Endo-Lyser. No conflicts or other use of these names has been found in an initial search.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

We at Meditech believe that sales and marketing will follow from industry and trade and physician awareness campaigns to specific executions directed at specific customer segments. We envisage a top tier of 15 to 45 customers in each segment will be attacked first. Just a few sales hits in these top tiers will enable achievement of targeted forecasts.

We at Meditech will achieve our initial sales goals from direct and distributed sales of the Endo-Band. Note that this product is targeted first since it is an existing, well-defined market and 510k approval is expected. Worldwide sales through distributors will provide needed cash flow. We plan to use the following strategies to reach our targeted audience;

  • Make use of a direct marketing approach
  • Promptness in bidding for supplies contracts from the government and other healthcare organizations
  • We will also advertise our business in relevant healthcare magazines, newspapers, TV and radio stations
  • Meditech Inc. will introduce our company by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to individuals, healthcare facilities and major shareholders in healthcare chains.
  • We plan to list our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
  • Attend relevant international and local expos, seminars, and fairs et al
  • We also plan to create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still deliver excellent services
  • We will make use of the internet to promote our business

10. Sales Forecast

Our sales forecast at Meditech includes small unit sales into the international market. The product is the Endo-Band. Unit sales are at $1,450 US. Product cost of direct sales is 35 percent while product cost through distributors is 60 percent. It is important to note that $350,000 license fee and $450,000 advance royalties are the target figures for a license on the Endo-Gator.

If these figures are not attainable or turn out to be a lesser number (but still acceptable to the Meditech board) then they should not be considered for cash flow purposes. Note that the investment money sought for Meditech will still be based on a sales forecast that does not include a successful license sale. Outlined below is the sales projection for Meditech Inc.;

  • First Fiscal Year:  $5,620,000
  • Second Fiscal Year:  $16,280,000
  • Third Fiscal Year:  $21,050,000

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We at Meditech believe that public relations and industry media will help in over-all industry awareness. Feature articles and product reviews will help launch awareness. Direct mail to buying groups and ads in trade publications will help with buyer impressions. Also, all will be integrated with physician materials and training video tapes once approval has been obtained to increase point-of-surgery usage.

Our management has already worked closely with physicians to design our products. The benefit of working with physicians is well known. As an outgrowth of our Physician Advisory Board, Meditech will actively recruit allied physicians with sponsored events and seminars. Every major market area will be targeted. An annual event will also be sponsored. Listed out below are other strategies we hope to leverage on to promote and advertise Meditech Inc.;

  • We will list Meditech Inc. in local directories / yellow pages
  • We also plan to create an official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
  • We will also distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
  • We plan to contact healthcare institutions all around Minnesota
  • Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded uniforms and all our vehicles are well branded with our company logo et al.
  • We will place adverts on both print (newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
  • We will also sponsor relevant community based events / programs
  • We will also make use of the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our services
  • We also plan to mount our billboards in strategic locations all around Rochester.

Sources of Income

We at Meditech will generate income by designing and marketing endoscopic medical devices using various distribution channels both foreign and domestic. We are currently developing our patent-applied technologies to final product and approval stage.

We also plan to establish our brand and corporate identity in the medical products field. We at believe that our source of revenue will include direct wholesale sales to international distributors. Sales materials, video training tapes, and support materials will be produced. Physician materials will be included.

Direct sales will be by personal contact, direct mail, public relations, and media directed at key industry segments. In addition, electronic marketing will be deployed whenever it fits with the buying patterns of a key group. A website and electronic commerce site will be utilized to cultivate direct sales to key industry groups.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

The pricing for our Endo-Band is $1,450 per unit. Terms are 5 percent 10 days, net 35. All collections in this plan for cash flow purposes are based on an average 45 day collection span. Also, our 80 percent gross margin allows for factoring receivables if that should become viable or necessary.

A 25 percent discount will be offered to distributors. Quantity discounts are not included but remain possible in negotiations with major buying groups. Meanwhile, our Endo-Gator is priced in two components: The motorized unit at $2,340, while the cutting/irrigation/suction component at $1,200 (disposable).

It also important to note that all these are suggested retail prices. They represent ten times our estimated cost of manufacture. However, the strategy is to license these products for a 10 percent royalty. Pricing would be negotiated with the licensee.

  • Payment Options

We at Meditech Inc. know how crucial it is to maintain varieties of payment methods for clients. We are ready to provide a wide range of payment methods to suit our clients. We hope to make our business dealings so simple and comfortable for our customers. We’ve also employed the use of a banking platform to help us provide all the services we will be offering below.

  • Payment by via bank transfer
  • Payment via online bank transfer
  • Payment via check
  • Payment via bank draft
  • Payment via mobile money

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

The key elements in our financial projections for Meditech are the legal expense for filing all patent applications, the establishment of Corporate Identity, the location and place of doing business, funding of additional capital raising alternatives, salary for the two key managers and founders and the cost of formulation of Strategic Plan.

We’ve taken our time to analyze our market and we expect the cost of equipment to be the same price all over the United States, and any difference will surely be little enough to be overlooked. Outlined below is a detailed cost analysis of starting Meditech Inc.;

  • Incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
  • The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $800,000
  • Leasing/renting a corporate office, R&D facility, and prototype and small-run manufacturing facility – $450,000.
  • The cost for furnishing and equipping the office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, servers / internet facility, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $94,000
  • The amount required to purchase the needed software applications – $3,500
  • Launching an official Website will cost – $500
  • Our budget for advertising and publicity – $40,000
  • The amount needed to pay bills and staff members for at least 2 to 3 months – $70,000
  • Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $5,000
  • Research and Development fund: $2,000,000
  • Miscellaneous – $10,000

From the above cost analysis, we need about $1,600,000 plus & $2,000,000 for research and development to start Meditech Inc.

Generating Funding/Startup Capital for Meditech Inc.

$2,600,000 was raised from the initial two investors for startup purposes. This funding came in in early 2019 and the startup tasks have either been completed successfully or are in the final process of completion. These are treated purely as start-up expenses by this plan.  $1,600,000 is treated as cash-on-hand as of the start of this plan on September 1, 2019.

The remainder of the start-up capital required as well as capital required for the continuation of operations in the first six months will be provided by selling the shares in the private placement. The capital obtained from these sales is projected to total an additional $980,000 and the plan calls for this cash to be infused in January and February, 2022.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

We at Meditech Inc. plan to make our human resources element a crucial component in the delivery of the total service. We believe that by having enthusiastic, capable, and empowered people interacting with our clients, we can build the competitive advantage of being able to comprehensively meet our clients’ needs.

We also note that the major companies in the endoscopic device field directly competitive with Meditech proposed products are Stryker Corporation, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew, and Accuracy Incorporated. No manufacturer has a product competitive with the Endo-Gator although a company like M &B could be a likely joint venture partner or licensee.

Although, buying methods are diverse, and there is significant overlap of decision making between these segments. That is why it is crucial that we have an experienced CEO and an experienced Sales and Marketing Manager to effectively attack these channels.

We also realized that the distribution patterns in the healthcare industry are such that the large buying groups dictate what products are used for certain procedures throughout their sphere of influence. It simply means that our products could be mandated or forced out for thousands of patients due to their health plan or hospital group.

Others recommend several alternatives which require physician education and intervention, similar to pharmaceuticals. Our sustainability strategy at Meditech is to create foreign markets on a limited basis at the end of 2022. Then to grow both markets in 2023 up to a 15 percent penetration.

Also, the strategy is to license the Endo-Gator to a major company such as M&B due to its growing regulatory requirements and initial marketing costs due to the fact that it is a new segment entry. Meanwhile, our objective at Meditech for the license is a $350,000 fee, $450,000 in advance royalties and a 10 percent royalty level per unit. Royalty projections are included in 2023 and 2022 sales forecasts.

We also plan to initiate the growth of the company to 42 employees in the first three years. The third year could require a few additional people besides those indicated especially if sales reach or exceed $21 million. Production assembly people are grouped together at approx. $15k per person. Payroll costs and benefits are pegged at 31 percent although they could be lower in Rochester.

Check List/Milestone

  • Business Name Availability Check : Completed
  • Business Incorporation: Completed
  • Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts : Completed
  • Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
  • Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
  • Application for business license and permit: Completed
  • Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
  • Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
  • Leasing, renovating and equipping our facility: Completed
  • Generating part of the startup capital from the founder: Completed
  • Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
  • writing of business plan: Completed
  • Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
  • Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
  • Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
  • Printing of Promotional Materials: Completed
  • Recruitment of employees: In Progress
  • Purchase of software applications, furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
  • Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
  • Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
  • Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
  • Establishing business relationship with banks, financial lending institutions, vendors and key players in the industry: In Progress

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Eye Surgery Equipment Maker Business Plan

Start your own eye surgery equipment maker business plan

Executive Summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. It describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">

This business plan has been developed to present NovOculi, Inc. to prospective investors and to assist in raising equity capital needed to begin production and to continue research and development of its patented products.

The Company NovOculi, Inc. is a start-up company that has designed and plans to develop and market ophthalmological surgical tools and techniques. During the past two years, NovOculi’s principals have had extensive experience with refractive correction techniques (both laser and non-laser based). Building on this experience, the principals have developed and begun testing a unique method of incisionless refractive correction dubbed NICS (Non-Invasive Corneal Sculpting).

Current refractive techniques, including LASIK, PRK, and Intacs, all require destruction of at least a portion of the protective epithelial layer overlying the cornea of the eye and are accompanied by complications resulting from this loss of protection. The principals have developed a method involving iontophoresis, an ionic dye and a wavelength-specific laser to accomplish effective refraction without the troublesome destruction of epithelium.

Using NICS, NovOculi plans to take advantage of the opportunities for market development and penetration in the field of laser refraction in which demand is nearly doubling each year.

Based on the detailed financial projections prepared by the company’s management, it is estimated that equity investment is required to begin the company’s operations successfully. Funds will be used to produce, test and market NICS, as well as provide initial working capital for the first two years.

Market Potential A massive potential market base exists for the laser refractive surgery industry. It is estimated that approximately 54% of the U.S. population (~162 million) has refractive errors, approximately 90% of which are eligible for correction using current techniques or those on the near horizon (Federal Air Surgeon’s Medical Bulletin). In contrast, only 900,000 Americans have had LASIK (the most popular laser correction technique) as of two years ago. This represents only 0.6% of the total current market, leaving the other 99.4% untapped. (“Bye-Bye Glasses,” EyeCare Business Online ). Furthermore, the demand for laser refractive surgery is approximately doubling annually (“Bye-Bye Glasses,” EyeCare Business Online ,).

The company has contacted nine of the leading ophthalmological medical institutions in the U.S. Seven of the nine have expressed interest in participating in collaborative research and, given encouraging research results, performing NICS commercially once it is available. Institutions expressing interest include: John Hopkins, Harvard, Stanford, Oregon Health Sciences, Duke University, and the University of California at San Francisco.

NovOculi’s principals have also conducted a preliminary market survey at a local grocery market in the Durham, NC area. Fifty consumers with refractive errors were randomly selected outside of a local grocery market and asked the questions in the survey. A copy of the survey and a summary of its findings may be found in the Market Survey topic.

Technology The principals have developed and patented a revolutionary technique, NICS, and two novel devices which are used to accomplish incisionless refractive correction. The patented technique involves driving an ionic dye from its patented polymeric vehicle into the cornea of the patient using the patented iontophoretic device (a device that creates a charge which then repels or attracts other charges). Once the ionic dye has been effectively driven into the cornea and away from sensitive structures, a laser tuned to the wavelength of the dye is then used to target the dyed cornea and alter its shape, much as is done with current laser refraction protocols. After the procedure is completed, the iontophoretic device is reapplied, this time with opposite polarity, and the dye is drawn from the cornea due to the attraction of opposite charges. Through the use of the patented device and technique, the ophthalmologist performing the procedure will be able to avoid the most troublesome and complication-ridden aspect of current laser refraction surgery: the corneal incision. Over 90% of all complications of current laser refraction surgery are related to difficulties associated with the incision and the subsequent healing process, virtually all of which could be avoided with NovOculi’s technology.

Strategy The key element in NovOculi’s strategy is to market its technology to both those performing the procedure as well as to those on which the procedure will be performed. Once research data and publicity have been generated, the sales force will step in to encourage the initial investment in the laser and equipment required for the procedure, creating a “demand push.”  After this investment has been made, a “demand pull” will be generated for the components required for institutions to perform the procedure through marketing directly to patients.

The sales team will begin with six seasoned sales personnel and swell to forty-four members by Year 5. The sales team will work closely with laser manufacturers in order to promote the technology to patients and surgeons.

Ophthalmologist training for the NICS procedure will be available at six sites throughout the U.S.: San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Durham, NC. Each site will have in-depth training sessions led by a prominent ophthalmic surgeon.

Those performing the procedure will be able to charge a premium for providing patients with access to this superior technology. NovOculi will extract approximately half of the nearly $1,000 premium through licensing fees associated with its patented procedure and sales of the individual components.

Regulatory Issues As with its predecessor, LASIK, the company’s product will not need to wait for FDA approval prior to widespread use. LASIK had been performed on almost 900,000 patients without approval by the FDA as of two years ago (Current Trends in Refractive Eye Surgery, 128th Annual Meeting of APHA).

This was made possible due to the fact that the “FDA does not approve procedures, only the equipment used in them” (“Eye centers set their sights on LASIK surgery growth,” Houston Business Journal , July 16) and the components of the procedure have already been approved by the FDA for medical use. NovOculi will not need to obtain approval to market their patented technique and devices due to the fact that the FDA has approved similar devices for medical use in the following arenas:  1) The 440 nm laser has been approved for dermatologic uses. 2) Iontophoretic devices has been approved for drug delivery on the epidermis. 3) Polymeric contact lenses have been approved and are commonly used as an external aid for refractive correction, and 4) The targeting dye, tartrazine, is the most ubiquitous food coloring additive on the market to date.

Major Milestones The following are key milestones for the startup period:

  • Completion of strategic business plan nine months before starting date.
  • Research grants applied for by seven months before starting date.
  • All patents, domestic and foreign, applied for by six months before starting date.
  • Start-up capital raised by starting date.
  • All other first-year milestones are currently on schedule in accordance to the business plan.

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The principals, to date, have spent ample time on development and research of the current products which will satisfy the market demand for a safer, less complicated laser refraction correction technique.

Financial Summary Based on detailed financial projections, if the company receives its funding, it will operate profitably by Year 4 with a hefty net profit. The following chart summarizes the projected financial information.

Eye surgery equipment maker business plan, executive summary chart image

1.1 Mission

To provide the field of ophthalmology with innovative designs which will facilitate the treatment of ophthalmologic diseases and conditions.

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

NovOculi, Inc. will research and develop biomedical devices to aid in the treatment of a variety of ophthalmologic diseases and conditions. Initially, its customers will be those individuals that desire permanent refractive correction but do not wish to risk the multitude of complications associated with the current procedure, LASIK.

The company is currently developing its patent-applied technology to final product and approval stage. It is also seeking to establish its corporate identity in the medical products field.

2.1 Company Ownership

The company will be incorporated in North Carolina. It will have authorized 15 million ordinary shares and 150,000 preferred shares. The rights and privileges of these shares will be stated in the company’s Articles of Incorporation.

The proposed share capital of the company prior to capital raising

The company has raised seed capital from its principals.

Additional working capital will be raised in two sections. Section 1 will be conducted in January of Year 1 and will raise money for use in accordance with the business plan. Section 2 will raise additional funds in Year 3 of the business plan, but will be conducted only if sufficient research grants are not obtained in Year 2. It is deemed likely by the company’s industry consultants that the research grants will be obtained and, therefore, section 2 will not be necessary.

2.2 Start-up Summary

The key elements in the start-up plan for the company are:

  • Formulation of the strategic business plan.
  • The establishment of a corporate identity.
  • The establishment of a location and place of doing business.
  • Funding of working capital requirements, purchases of other equipment and assets deemed necessary for the principle operating activities of the company, and additional capital raising alternatives.
  • Initiation of Research and Development of existing and future products.

Costs of raising capital through private placement.

Startup seed funding was raised from the founders of the company for these purposes. This funding will be available in late 2001 and these tasks have either been completed successfully or are in the final process of completion.

These are treated purely as start-up expenses and initial working capital by this plan. The founders’ investment is treated as cash-on-hand as of the start of this plan on January 1, 2002. The remainder of the start-up capital required, as well as capital required, for the continuation of operations in the first six months will be provided by selling shares via a private placement to key investors. The capital obtained through this fund-raising exercise is expected to provide an additional boost and the business plan calls for these funds to be infused for the purposes of operating the business, in accordance with this business plan.

Eye surgery equipment maker business plan, company summary chart image

2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

The company will initially be based in the Research Triangle Park area in North Carolina. The website (www.NovOculi.com) has already been registered, and the trademark process has been initiated.

In view of the strategic plan to contract with a third party for all manufacturing requirements, the facilities needed will be mainly offices for personnel and storage space for inventory. After Year 5, when the market for our products reaches our anticipated milestone, the company will explore the feasibility of constructing its own manufacturing facilities.

Ophthalmologist training for the NICS procedure will be available at six collaborative research centers in the following cities: San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Kansas City and Durham, NC. Each site will be coordinated by, but financially independent of, NovOculi and will have in-depth training sessions led by a prominent ophthalmic surgeon.

Initial research and development (R&D) will be accomplished through a collaborative effort with the Stanford University Department of Ophthalmology, who provides NovOculi’s initial research facilities.

NovOculi’s technology is an improvement on the common laser refractive surgery procedure LASIK. In order to fully explain NovOculi’s technology, it is first necessary to develop an understanding of its predecessors in the laser refractive surgery industry. After this has been accomplished, NovOculi’s technology will be described, competing technologies will be analyzed, sourcing issues will be addressed and, finally, future products will be discussed.

Background Refractive correction, in all forms, is accomplished through alteration of the contours of the cornea. This alteration is accomplished by destroying either the stroma (middle layer of the cornea) or the epithelium (outer, protective layer of the cornea) of the cornea, and in some cases, both.

Early procedures, such as PRK, used lasers to change the contour of the cornea by destroying both the epithelium and the stroma through simply blasting the cornea straight on without any preparation. This procedure was difficult for patients as the healing took weeks and the destruction of the epithelium left the eye permanently susceptible to infections and ulcers.

LASIK was an improvement over PRK due to the fact that most of the protective layer of epithelium was folded back, and only the stroma of the cornea was destroyed. In order to fold the epithelium back, though, a large, circular incision in the cornea was necessary. While LASIK was an advance in technology in that the epithelium was not destroyed, the incision itself was found to cause multiple problems such as night blindness, loss of sight, permanent sensation of irritation, etc.

3.1 Product Description

In an effort to avoid the complications associated with corneal incision and epithelial destruction utilized in laser refractive surgery procedures, NovOculi’s principals designed NICS (Non-Invasive Corneal Sculpting). NICS allows for effective laser refractive correction without the troublesome corneal incision. The subject matter of NovOculi’s technology is currently protected by Provisional Patent No. 60/243,031.

The ionic dye used in NICS is tartrazine, a common food coloring additive. Tartrazine is a small, stable, yellow dye which absorbs visible light at 440 nanometer (nm) and is positively charged. In order to make sure that the tartrazine is delivered only to the cornea, NovOculi has developed a unique contact lens impregnated with tartrazine which incorporates a barrier to lateral diffusion. This barrier prevents the remainder of the eye from being exposed to the tartrazine and allows for more precise dye delivery.

By controlling the duration of the iontophoresis, during which the RPID will be positively charged to repel the tartrazine, the dye is selectively placed in the middle of the cornea, away from the sensitive epithelial and endothelial layers. Once this has been accomplished, the middle layer of the cornea can be selectively targeted by a 440 nm wavelength laser without ever having to destroy any portion of the protective epithelium.

After the cornea has been sculpted with the laser, the RPID is then reapplied with reversed polarity and the dye is extracted from the cornea, leaving a clear, sculpted cornea.

In summary, NICS is performed as follows:

  • Drops are applied to the epithelium of the cornea to decrease sensation and increase dye permeability.
  • A contact lens of varying polymeric density and charged with ionic dye, tartrazine, is placed on the epithelium of the cornea of the eye to be corrected, then the RPID (charge-inducing plate) in the shape of a contact lens is placed over the dye.
  • The RPID is activated with a charge similar to the dye, thereby forcing the dye into the eye.
  • The cornea is washed free of the dye and the iontophoretic plate is reapplied to drive the dye beyond the epithelial layer of the cornea, but above the endothelial layer.
  • Once the dye is selectively located in the stromal layer of the cornea, a laser tuned to the wavelength of the dye, 440 nm, is used to sculpt the cornea using the standard laser refractive surgery protocol.
  • The reversible iontophoretic device is then reapplied with its charge reversed in order to draw the dye out of the cornea due to their now opposite charges attracting.
  • The eye heals and the stroma resorbs over the course of one to two weeks during which sight improves to 20/20 (or better!).

NovOculi’s novel technology is found in 1) The overall method of selectively ablating stromal corneal cells, 2) The Reversible Polarity Iontophoretic Device, and 3) The dye-impregnated polymeric contact lens, all of which are currently intellectual property of Daniel R. Burnett, one of the principals.

While NovOculi’s technology is novel, the principles on which it is founded are well established. The targeted destruction of certain cells through delivery, then stimulation, of a photoactive substance has been accomplished elsewhere in the human body in the treatment of cancer and has been termed Photodynamic Therapy (“Targeted intracellular delivery of photosensitizers to enhance photodynamic efficiency,” Immunology & Cell Biology , August 2000). Also, the delivery of ionic substances into the eye has been successfully accomplished in studies attempting to increase the ocular delivery of dilating drops and antibiotics (“The role of iontophoresis in ocular drug delivery,” Journal of Ocular Pharmacology , Spring 1994). Thus, the principles on which NovOculi’s technology rests have been proven in related studies, yet never applied in the laser refractive surgery until now, with the development of NovOculi’s patented method and devices.

3.2 Sourcing

Most of the components involved in NovOculi’s method of corneal sculpting are relatively inexpensive and common. The iontophoretic plate, for example, is constructed of standard electronic components and its power source can be either an outlet or a common battery. Tartrazine, the ionic dye, is the most common food coloring additive used in the United States, making this component ubiquitous.

The one component which will be more expensive and difficult to obtain will be the refractive laser tuned to the wavelength of the ionic dye. Partnership with a laser manufacturer would be beneficial in facilitating the development of this laser and well-received efforts have been made to form this relationship.

3.3 Future Products

Future products of NovOculi, Inc. will be medical devices in the field of ophthalmology. Two of the principals, Dr. Daniel Burnett and Dr. Terry Kim, as well as one of the consultants, Dr. Mark Blumenkranz, are intimately involved in the field of ophthalmology and have experience in the R&D of biomedical devices.

In order to capitalize on NovOculi’s core competency in ophthalmic devices, the company will focus its efforts in this arena. One example of a device currently in the R&D pipeline is a contact lens formed from a calcium alginate polymer impregnated with one of a variety of ophthalmically active drugs. Use of this slow-release, once-a-day therapy will allow many patients to be treated much more effectively and more conveniently than the current therapy which requires repetitive application of eye drops, sometimes as often as once an hour.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

The market for NovOculi’s products currently consists of patients with refractive errors who desire to have sharper vision without external aids. Essentially, the potential market is the nearly identical to the potential market for LASIK, the current laser refractive surgery procedure. The markets are not exactly identical, though, as we expect there to be greater acceptance of a non-invasive refractive protocol versus the complication-ridden LASIK.

A massive potential market base exists for the laser refractive surgery industry. It is estimated that approximately 54% of the U.S. population (~162 million) has refractive errors, approximately 90% of which are eligible for correction using current techniques or those on the near horizon (Federal Air Surgeon’s Medical Bulletin, Winter 1998). Furthermore, the demand for laser refractive surgery is approximately doubling annually.

The company has contacted 9 of the leading ophthalmological medical institutions in the U.S., 7 of which have expressed interest in participating in collaborative research and, given encouraging research results, performing NICS once it is available. Institutions expressing interest include: John Hopkins, Harvard, Stanford, Oregon Health Sciences, Duke University, as well as the University of California at San Francisco.

Furthermore, NovOculi has conducted a preliminary market survey at a local grocery market in the Durham, NC area. Fifty patients chosen at random outside of the grocery market, all with refractive errors, completed the survey, a copy of which may be found in the Market Survey topic. The following sections refer to this market study in further expounding on the tremendous market potential for NovOculi.

4.1 Market Survey

The following survey was given to 107 consumers at a local grocery store in Durham, N.C. on January 12th and 13th:

  • Do you now have, or have you ever had, a refractive error (Vision that is worse than 20/20).
  • Have you considered, or would you ever consider, permanent correction of your vision.
  • If so, would you be willing to pay more money for the surgery in order to decrease the rate of significant complications (pain, night blindness, etc.) by 50%?
  • If so, how much would you pay?
A)   less than $500 B)   $500-1,000 C)   $1,000-2,000 D)   more than $2000 Brought to you by Create a professional business plan Using AI and step-by-step instructions Create Your Plan Secure funding Validate ideas Build a strategy

Once 50 participants answered “Yes” to questions number 1 and 2, the survey was terminated and the following results compiled:

Of those that would pay the premium in order to decrease the rate of complications, the following distribution was found:

The data clearly indicate that, of those consumers in this sample population with refractive errors who would consider surgery for permanent correction, an overwhelming majority would pay a premium for a decreased risk of significant complications. Of the premiums that would be paid, the most common value was $500-$1,000 with a mean dollar value of approximately $1,100 (using midpoints and assuming midpoint for more than $2,000 is $2,500).

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

NovOculi will focus its marketing strategies on building market share among the outcome-conscious refractive surgery patients. For this customer segment, NovOculi will offer a branded technology which will help the patient to gain increased visual acuity with less of a risk of complications. The market research shows that this customer segment is less price sensitive and will absorb price premiums charged by ophthalmologists that use the NovOculi technology.

4.2.1 Market Needs

The market needs of the target segment are straightforward – clients want to permanently improve their vision using a process with the lowest possible risk of complications. Good vision is of paramount importance for such patients as it allows them not only to be independent of visual aids but also to become healthier in general. There will be no need to buy new frames or to rinse contacts, and such patients will literary open up their eyes to the world.

4.3 Market Segmentation

Patients desiring permanent refractive correction typically fall into two different groups with respect to their predominant concerns related to the procedure: Outcome-Conscious Patients and Cost-Conscious Patients. Outcome-Conscious Patients constitute the bulk of the refractive surgery market (46 out of 50 surveyed), and were willing to pay a premium in order to achieve a significant decrease in the rate of complications (defined as 50% less) with the procedure. The Cost-Conscious Patients typically felt that the decrease in rate of complications was not worth the extra expenditure.

Outcome-Conscious Patients The bulk of the population, these patients seek out the highest quality procedure with the most skilled surgeon, typically regardless of price. Most patients realize the importance of their vision and will not take chances with respect to their sight. This group will be the primary target for NovOculi as they will tolerate NovOculi’s charging a premium for its superior procedure.

Cost-Conscious Patients The small minority of the refractive error patient population, these patients will often fly to Canada or Mexico in order to capitalize on the large price differential with respect to the laser vision correction procedure between these countries and the United States. These patients will not be targeted by NovOculi initially as they are less interested in the superiority of technology and the skill of the surgeon as they are in the cost of the procedure.

Eye surgery equipment maker business plan, market analysis summary chart image

4.4 Industry Analysis

Currently the industry is experiencing rapidly increasing competition in the form of price wars. The average consumer now pays approximately $1,650 per eye for LASIK, as opposed to greater than $2,500 per eye less than two years ago (“Laser Eye Centers Wage an All-Out Price War,” New York Times , December 9, 2000). With this price crunch, the valuation of existing companies has plummeted despite their continued growth in earnings.

Insurance companies are beginning to experiment with reimbursement for LASIK as well. Currently, though, the only insurance companies that pay for LASIK at all do so with a subsidy, which is a small discount to keep patients within their health system.

NovOculi will be affected by the current industry trends, but to a much lesser degree than LASIK providers. Due to the superiority of NovOculi’s technology over LASIK, NovOculi will be able to charge a premium. Also, due to its proprietary position, NovOculi is in a position to prevent the commoditization of NICS and thereby sustain economic profits for the duration of NovOculi’s patent.

4.4.1 Industry Participants

Currently, the major industry participants listed in “Laser Eye Centers Wage an All-Out Price War,” New York Times , from December 9, 2000 are as  follows:

  • Hospitals- 10%
  • Corporate Chains- 48%
  • Independent Ophthalmologists- 42%

The major corporate chain participants will be outlined in detail in the next section, Competition.

4.4.2 Distribution Patterns

Currently, the distribution pattern for the industry involves high-end sales with excellent manufacturer support. The lasers cost millions of dollars and are large investments for the purchasing institutions. No distributor is necessary for these lasers as the internal sales staff and distribution mechanisms suffice.

The microkeratomes involved in LASIK are also sold directly from the manufacturer to the LASIK provider. With the microkeratomes, though, the small, tightly knit medical device distribution channels are beginning to play a role. For NovOculi, these medical device distributors will play a key role due to the fact that components of the NovOculi procedure are single-use and will require frequent purchasing and delivery.

4.4.3 Competition and Buying Patterns

As was alluded to in the previous section, the current buying patterns for the LASIK procedure involve substantial, infrequent purchases with excellent manufacturer support. The only significant purchases necessary in order to perform LASIK are the laser and the microkeratome, both of which are long-term, multiple-use devices. This buying pattern is related to the fact that none of the components of the LASIK procedure are single-use. These buying patterns are expected to change once NovOculi begins to capture market share and the need for replenishment of its single-use, dye-impregnated contact lens increases. NovOculi will need to develop strategic relationships with existing distributors in order to take advantage of their well-established distribution infrastructure.

Competition

Competition in the field of refractive correction, both permanent and temporary, has been escalating. Not only are glasses, contact lenses, PRK, LASIK, Intacs, and others competing with each other, but competitive forces within these arenas is becoming fierce as well. LASIK providers, for example, are experiencing vicious price wars which are cutting deeply into profit margins.

NovOculi will rely on the superiority of its technology in order to thrive in this competitive market. NovOculi’s is still the only technology in the field of refractive surgery which provides permanent refractive correction without making any complication-ridden incisions into the cornea. This competitive advantage will help NovOculi navigate these competitive waters and capture a large portion of the refractive surgery market.

5.1 Competitive Technology

Competition in the refractive surgery arena is expected from three main sources: external aids, existing laser refractive surgery, and alternative non-laser surgical procedures.

External Aids Contact lenses and glasses have been around for decades. The fact that LASIK has become so wildly popular, with demand doubling annually despite its complications, displays the fact that many patients who were once content with external aids now desire permanent refractive correction.

Existing Laser Refractive Surgery It is expected that the largest source of competition will be from the LASIK industry. Much like LASIK has ousted the previously accepted procedure of PRK, NovOculi hopes to supplant LASIK with NICS. The competition NovOculi’s technology faces is significant as many institutions have already purchased the excimer lasers required for LASIK, a hefty investment which will create lock-in to the LASIK procedure. Once the details of the superiority of NovOculi’s procedure surface, laser refractive surgery centers will be pressured to invest in NICS by both ophthalmologists performing the procedure and patients desiring refractive surgery.

Another competing technology worth mention is the newly-developed technique employing femtolasers. This technology also hoped to correct refractive errors without an epithelial incision by using multiple lasers focused on a single position at which their destructive effects would be additive. Recent studies have found multiple, unavoidable technical complications, including formation of gas, debris, and cauterized tissue at the site of cellular destruction. It is highly unlikely that this technology will be able to overcome these hurdles and accomplish incisionless refraction without the use of some form of dye or chemical to target the selected tissues, a method which is the currently intellectual property of NovOculi.

Alternative Non-laser Surgical Procedures In the U.S., the most popular, non-laser surgical technique in the industry is Intacs. Intacs are implanted into the stroma of the cornea where they bend the overall curvature to the desired angle so that the refractive error is corrected indefinitely, but reversibly.This procedure, as well as fully implantable contact lenses, have the added benefit of being reversible, but the disadvantage of still requiring a significant incision in the cornea with disruption of the stroma. Also, the procedure can only be performed on those with mild near-sightedness, approximately 20% of the existing market. Despite these disadvantages, these alternatives are gaining a niche in the market and will be a source of competition.

5.2 Competitive Comparison

Technology-wise, NICS has significant advantages over existing technologies. As was explained previously, current procedures all require destruction of a portion of the epithelium of the cornea. This destruction places the eye in danger of multiple complications, the overall rate of which is approximately 10%. The following are the most common complications associated with the epithelial incision in LASIK.

Common – (greater than 5% of the patient population)

  • Pain (possibly chronic)
  • Photophobia
  • Induced Irregular Astigmatism (corneal flap wrinkling)
  • Corneal Scarring (associated with continued glare and haloes and permanent loss of night vision
  • Epithelial Ingrowth (extension of scarring in cornea)
  • Damage to Iris
  • Tearing/Excess Mucous- Dry Eye
  • Corneal Edema

Less Common – (less than 5% of the patient population)

  • Corneal Epithelial Flap Dislocation
  • Corneal Rupture
  • Complete Blindness

Virtually all of these complications are associated with the corneal epithelial incision and its subsequent post-operative healing. Due to this fact, the bulk of these complications could be effectively avoided through the use of NICS.

5.3 Main Competitors

NovOculi’s competitors can be divided into two categories: those competing within the field of laser refractive surgery and those with alternate refractive correction technology.

Laser Refractive Surgery Competitors Competition will arise from both LASIK laser manufacturers and LASIK providers. Among these competitors, though, lies the possibility for the formation of strong, strategic alliances in both arenas.

LASIK Laser Manufacturers The largest of the LASIK laser manufacturers is VISX (EYE). Down from its peak valuation of $100/share in July of 1999, VISX now trades at $13, with a market cap of $800 million and a  price/earnings (p/e) ratio of 23. VISX is a good candidate for a potential ally in the development of a laser for NICS.

LASIK Providers One of the largest commercial chains providing LASIK is TLC Laser Eye Centers (TLCV). Since its peak of $50 a share in July 1999, TLC has also experienced large devaluations associated with the increasingly competitive price wars in the LASIK industry. Due to these price cuts, TLC has experienced a negative 100% income growth. The fact that TLC has rapidly eroding margins associated with massive devaluations makes TLC an ideal target for a strategic alliance as well so that they may once again reap the rewards of a large sustainable profit margin. Currently, the stock trades at approximately $4, with a market cap of $129 million.

Non-Laser Refractive Correction Competitors The greatest competition in this field is expected to arise from Intacs, the reversible corneal implants for refractive correction from KeraVision, Inc (KERA). Founded in 1986, KeraVision received 510K approval for its instruments in mid-1999. After meeting this milestone, KeraVision’s stock peaked at nearly $30 in July of 1999. Subsequently, as demand for laser refractive correction rose, KeraVision’s stock plummeted despite positive research results in human trials.

Currently with a stock price of $0.47, KeraVision’s most recent return on equity of -97.50% is below its five-year average of -60.90%, which is also below the five-year industry average of 11.50%. Also, NASDAQ has threatened to delist the company and proceedings are underway. It is the opinion of experts in the biotechnology industry that KeraVision will not be able to weather its current financial hardships and will soon file for bankruptcy.

5.4 Impact of Competition

NovOculi’s competition will have both a negative and a positive impact on the company’s success.

Negative Impact The competing technologies outlined in section 5.1 all hold a significant portion of the current refractive correction market. Furthermore, especially with LASIK, the institutions performing these procedures have invested large sums in order to acquire the technology in order to perform these procedures. This is expected to create an element of lock-in in which many institutions performing LASIK will be reluctant to switch to NICS. For this reason, it is imperative that NovOculi accelerate its bench research and market entry of NICS as much as possible.

Also, competitors in this field have been engaging in a vicious price war. While NovOculi expects to be able to charge a premium, this premium is still based on the existing laser surgery price as a foundation. Further erosion of prices will have a negative impact on NovOculi as well.

Positive Impact With the acceptance of each of these technologies, the potential diffusion rate of NICS grows. Competitors have already invested millions of dollars in convincing patients that they need refractive surgery, and further convincing many to have the procedure performed. As with any new technology, the acceptance of the pioneer is always slower than modifications of the pioneering technology. Therefore, market acceptance of NICS will be speeded by existing technology.

5.5 Competitive Edge

As was mentioned previously, NovOculi’s system of refractive correction has significant advantages over existing technologies. Current procedures all require destruction of a portion of the epithelium of the cornea which places the eye in danger of multiple complications, the overall rate of which is approximately 10%. NovOculi’s technology obviates the need for such an incision and will make the procedure safer and more attractive to patients with refractive errors.

NovOculi’s competitive advantage arises from its proprietary position with a patent on the reversible iontophoretic plate for delivery of the dye to the cornea, the method of sculpting the cornea using a targeting chemical and an energy source which will selectively stimulate the chemical, and the varying density polymeric contact lens impregnated with an ionic dye.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

The key element in NovOculi’s strategy is to market its technology to both those performing the procedure as well as to those on which the procedure will be performed. Once research data and publicity have been generated, the sales force will step in to encourage the initial investment in the laser required for the procedure, creating a “demand push.” After this investment has been made, a “demand pull” will be generated for the components required for institutions to perform the procedure.

Ophthalmologist training for the NICS procedure will be available at six sites throughout the U.S.: San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Kansas City and Durham, NC. Each site will have in-depth training sessions led by a prominent ophthalmic surgeon.

6.1 Value Proposition

The true value proposition for NovOculi’s technology lies with the patient. The patient stands to gain permanently increased visual acuity with a greatly decreased risk of complications. As vision is of paramount importance for the general patient population, they will be willing to pay a hefty premium in order to access the superior technology.

The value proposition for institutions and ophthalmologists to adopt the technology is two-fold: 1) Economic profit will be able to be sustained as NovOculi intends to charge approximately 50% of the total price increase associated with NovOculi’s procedure, and 2) Use of this procedure will constitute superior patient care for those providers to whom this matters.

6.2 Marketing Strategy

Promotion of NovOculi’s technology will involve targeting two different populations: 1) Ophthalmologists Performing Laser Refractive Surgery and 2) Patients with Refractive Errors. NovOculi’s success is dependent upon acceptance of its technology by both groups and its promotional strategies will be reflective of this fact. Of course, acceptance by either group will be helpful in obtaining acceptance by the other.

6.2.1 Promotion Strategy

NovOculi’s technology will be marketed using different tactics to target its two different target populations: 1) Ophthalmologists Performing Laser Refractive Surgery and 2) Patients with Refractive Errors.

Ophthalmologists Performing Laser Refractive Surgery Acceptance amongst the nearly 3,400, and growing, ophthalmologists who perform refractive surgery will be one of the keys to NovOculi’s success. Even with strong patient demand, if the ophthalmologists are not willing to perform the procedure, then the market will remain untapped. Furthermore, ophthalmologists frequently have a privileged position in consulting patients concerning procedures and those that have embraced NovOculi’s technology will be powerful advocates.

In marketing the procedure to ophthalmologists, the main consideration will be the effectiveness of the procedure and its superiority over existing technology. The most important factor in promoting NovOculi’s technology will be concrete research results displaying its superiority over existing technologies. Once these studies have been completed, three main channels will need to be utilized to target ophthalmologists: 1) Publication in highly visible and reputable medical journals, 2) Advertising in these same medical journals, and 3) Presentations at national conventions. Using these channels, along with the free publicity associated with the introduction of a novel, superior technology, ophthalmologists performing refractive procedures will be effectively targeted and a demand “push” will be generated for patients to choose NovOculi’s procedure over existing options.

Patients with Refractive Errors As with the ophthalmologist population, the most important factor in promoting NovOculi’s technology to the patient population will be concrete research results displaying its superiority over existing technologies. Once this has been established, NovOculi will embark on a large-scale, national advertising campaign focusing on television and printed media. Using these channels, along with as much free press as possible, NovOculi will be able to create a demand “pull” for its technology to complement the demand “push” which will arise from acceptance amongst ophthalmologists.

6.2.2 Pricing Strategy

As was mentioned in the topic on Market Segmentation, NovOculi will target the Outcome-Conscious Patient population and will not concern itself with the Cost-Conscious Patient population. In analyzing the results of the market survey, it was found that the Outcome-Conscious Patient population constituted 90% of the market. Also, this patient population was found to be much more price inelastic, willing, on average, to pay $500-$1,000 more for a procedure with significantly less complications.

NovOculi intends to charge a total of $200 per eye licensing fee for use of NovOculi’s patented procedure, then another $40 for each dye impregnated lens. Not including the reversible inotophoretic plate, NovOculi will charge approximately $480 per patient, assuming that both eyes will be corrected. Assuming that the ophthalmologists will be able to charge $1,000 more than the average current charge for LASIK, as was indicated in the survey results, this will leave over $500 per patient as the incentive for the ophthalmologists and institutions to make the investment and adopt NovOculi’s technology.

Considering that the average price for the LASIK procedure is currently $3,300 for both eyes (“Laser Eye Centers Wage an All-Out Price War,” New York Times , December 9, 2000), the price for NovOculi’s procedure is expected to be approximately $4,300 for both eyes. This is still well under the upper end of current prices for LASIK surgery which totals $6,000 for both eyes (“Laser Eye Centers Wage an All-Out Price War,” New York Times , December 9, 2000). Institutions using NovOculi’s technology will be able to charge this amount, even in the current increasingly price-competitive environment, due to the superiority of NovOculi’s technology.

The iontophoretic device will be a high margin, low volume item as this component of NICS will not need to be purchased with each additional procedure. Due to this fact, the iontophoretic device will be priced at $3,500.

6.3 Sales Strategy

NovOculi’s sales strategy will tie in with the sales strategy of the laser manufacturer. The key step in sales will be to initiate the investment in NovOculi’s technology by purchasing the laser to be used in the procedure. As with LASIK, the laser is a major investment, and the combined efforts of both NovOculi’s and the laser manufacturer’s sales forces will be required to encourage the initial investment. Once this investment has been made, the sales effort required from NovOculi will be decreased as the institutions performing the procedures will require the additional components sold by NovOculi in order to perform the refractive surgery. Therefore, the sales force will be relied on heavily for the initial demand push for the laser, then to a much lesser extent for the additional components for the procedure.

NovOculi’s sales force will initially consist of 6 sales personnel in Year 2. This number is expected to swell to 44 by Year 5 with expected dramatic increases in sales.

6.3.1 Sales Forecast

NovOculi’s technology is an improvement over LASIK, much the same as LASIK was an improvement over PRK. In fact, a poll of 10 Duke University and Stanford University ophthalmologists revealed that, on average, they felt that NovOculi’s technology was an improvement over LASIK of the same magnitude and caliber as LASIK was over PRK. Using this fact along with historical LASIK diffusion data (“Expanding the Horizons of Surgical Correction,” Review of Optometry , May, 1998) and the assumption that the diffusion constants will be similar between the two technologies, the following sales forecasts were compiled.

These forecasts do not take into account the fact that the market has become more receptive to ophthalmic laser surgery with the successes of LASIK and PRK and that the diffusion rate would probably be accelerated due to this increased acceptance of precedent technologies.

In developing the Sales Forecasts, it was modestly assumed that only 1/3 of all patients will require refractive correction bilaterally (both eyes). Current available data indicate that the actual fraction of patients requiring bilateral correction is closer to 2/3.

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6.4 Strategic Alliances

NovOculi will initially try to encourage strategic alliances in three different arenas: laser manufacturers, refractive surgery providers, and research institutions.

Laser Manufacturers As NovOculi will provide all the components necessary to perform its patented procedure except for the laser, developing a strategic alliance with a laser manufacturer will be an important step. Existing laser manufacturers, including VISX and Alcon, are currently being approached as a prelude to this partnership.

Refractive Surgery Providers Possibilities for strategic alliances abound in the current refractive surgery industry. Due to the increasingly fierce competition, LASIK providers are expected to be very receptive to a strategic alliance that would allow them access to a proprietary technology with which they could charge a sustainable premium. As was noted in section 4.2.1, 48% of all LASIK surgery is being done by corporate chains. A large corporate chain would be an ideal initial strategic alliance as it would provide excellent exposure and access to its well-established patient base and distribution networks.

Research Institutions As the bulk of research on the procedure has already been arranged to be done in collaboration with Stanford University, this strategic alliance is already well-formed. NovOculi is open to further collaboration as well, and expects to utilize five additional institutions as NICS training sites, including research institutions in: Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Durham, NC.

6.5 Milestones

The following are the key milestones for the first year of operations:

  • Completion of strategic business plan by March 1, 2001.
  • Research Grants will be applied for by May 1, 2001.
  • All patents, domestic and foreign, will be applied for by July 1, 2001.
  • Animal trials initiated by October 1, 2001.
  • Start-up capital will be raised by January 1, 2002.
  • All other first year milestones are currently on schedule in accordance to the business plan.

Eye surgery equipment maker business plan, strategy and implementation summary chart image

Regulatory Issues

Since the “FDA does not approve procedures, only the equipment used in them” (“Eye centers set their sights on LASIK surgery growth,” Houston Business Journal , July 16, 1999)  and the components of the procedure have already been approved for FDA use, NovOculi’s products will be ready for the market as soon as medical research shows favorable results. The FDA has already approved the use of the 440 nm laser in the medical arena for dermatologic uses, and NovOculi will not need to obtain approval to use this device in the sculpting of the cornea. Similarly, iontophoretic devices, polymeric contact lenses and the targeting dye, tartrazine, have been approved by the FDA for human use and will require no additional approval at this juncture.

An example of such expedited market entrance can be seen with the laser vision correction procedure LASIK. Prior to its approval by the FDA in Winter of 1999, LASIK had been performed on 900,000 patients due to the fact that the laser used for LASIK, the excimer laser, had already been approved for medical use in PRK. (“Bye-Bye Glasses,” EyeCare Business Online , September 2000)  We hope to similarly expedite market entrance.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

NovOculi’s Management Team is undoubtedly one of its strengths. Among its five principals, NovOculi, Inc. boasts three MBAs, a Chemistry PhD, and two MDs in the field of ophthalmology, all with stellar records within their fields. NovOculi’s consultants are impressive as well, with consultation being provided by the highly successful entrepreneur and technology development expert, Jim Sheldon, the highly reputable and internationally known chairman of Stanford ophthalmology, Dr. Mark Blumenkranz, and an Intellectual Property guru, Trygve Laegrid.

8.1 Management Team

Principals :

Daniel Burnett : Currently an MD/MBA student at Duke University applying for a residency in ophthalmology, Mr. Burnett has a long history of biomedical device design and testing and has spent a total of 10 months at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition to currently pursuing an MD/MBA, Mr. Burnett also has invented a myringotomy tube insertion device (patent pending) and has created a magnetic nerve stimulation device (patent pending). 

Terry Kim, MD : An ophthalmologist at the Duke University Eye Center, Dr. Kim has been performing LASIK laser surgery vision correction for the last five years. Dr. Kim has been profiled on the Discovery channel and has performed LASIK surgery on many high-profile figures, such as NBA-bound players on the Duke men’s basketball team.

Joseph Walker : A current MBA candidate at the Fuqua School of Business, Mr. Walker has detailed knowledge of the venture capital and start-up process derived from his experience at The Aurora Funds, Inc., a southeastern venture capital firm. Mr. Walker plans to pursue a career in venture capital and entrepreneurship.

Andy Rubinson : Currently attending MIT Sloan, in the New Product and Venture Development Track, Mr. Rubinson spent six years working for the Department of Defense at Boeing Space Systems where he helped improve product design and development and manufacturing processes for Delta Rockets and the International Space Station. He then spent two years assigned to Andersen Consulting’s (now Accenture) High Tech and Electronics Market Unit during which time he obtained experience in Product and Processes Development, Integrated Materials and Manufacturing, Procurement, and Manufacturing Strategy and Operations.

Joseph Hewitt : Currently pursuing a PhD in Chemistry at Duke University, Mr. Hewitt has research/teaching experience in both UV/Vis and Fluorescence spectroscopy. His dissertation research involves the application of Capillary Electrophoresis and Fluorescence Lifetime spectroscopy to characterize and study a class of environmental molecules called Humic Substances. As part of this research he has had extensive experience with both lasers and fluorescent dyes, making him a valuable addition to the management team.

Consultants :

James E. Sheldon : Mr. Sheldon’s background includes over twenty-five years experience in business, law, and education. For twelve years, he was one of two principals in The Synertech Group, Inc., a North Carolina-based venture development firm. Two public companies, Embrex and EnSys, resulted from Synertech’s efforts. Prior to founding Synertech, Mr. Sheldon was a principal in, or consultant to, several high technology start-up companies in the Research Triangle area.

Mark Blumenkranz, MD : Dr. Blumenkranz is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University. Dr. Blumenkranz is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and was instrumental in developing the successful laser vision correction program at Stanford. He currently serves as a principal investigator on a number of clinical research trials at Stanford evaluating the effects of laser and pharmacologic agents on eye disease. Dr. Blumenkranz is an associate examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology and a member of the Retina, Vitreous, Macula, and Gonin Societies. He has served on the Editorial Board of the journals Retina, Graefe’s Archives for Ophthalmology, and Ophthalmology. He is a past recipient of the Research to prevent Blindness Special Manpower Award, the Heed Award, the Rosenthal Award in Visual Sciences, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Honor Award.

Trygve Laegrid, PhD : Dr. Laegrid is currently pursuing an Executive MBA at the MIT Sloan School of Management. After obtaining a PhD in condensed matter physics, Dr. Laegrid became involved in licensing, valuation and management of intellectual property. He is currently the Manager for Intellectual Property and Commercialization for Statoil Industrial Development.

8.2 Management Team Gaps

An experienced CEO is actively being sought. The founders of the company will conduct the search. The desired profile is for a CEO experienced in the medical device arena, ideally who was part of a previous successful start-up venture.

The company will search for design engineers and consultants.

8.3 Personnel Plan

The Personnel Plan chronicles the growth of the organization to approximately 77 employees in the first 5 years. Each year may require a few additional people besides those indicated, based on the growth of the company in accordance with the Business Plan.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

CAPITAL RAISING (THE OFFER) The company intends to raise an amount of seed capital. Startup investment has already been committed by management.

Current Capital Structure:

Current Shareholders:

For $1.5 million, the investing party will receive 1,500,000 preferred shares or 33.3% of the company. Preferred shares will include senior debt and anti-dilution provisions as negotiated.

The proceeds from the offer will be used to fund the working capital requirements of the Company (and its subsidiary and associated companies, if any).

Land building, plant and machinery, and other fixed assets will be purchased as and when deemed necessary to maximize the profits of the company.

Cashflows incidental to the normal business operations of the company.

Funds will be used for the purpose of business operations of the company.

Exit Considerations The most likely exit afforded investors will be through acquisition. If the company’s actual operational and financial results are in any reasonable range of the projected results herein, the company will become an attractive asset to an acquisitive competitor or larger medical device company. No particular competitor or medical device company is thought to be more likely than another to be interested in NovOculi’s technology.

To the extent that actual operational results materially exceed those projected herein, the probability of an IPO exit increases. Exceptional results would enhance the NovOculi’s brand name and financial position, making new product development and the likelihood of new product success more plausible. In this scenario, the opportunity to raise capital and provide an investment exit to shareholders becomes more likely.

A third exit possibility for investors may be an acquisition after IPO. This strategy would allow an investor to delay exit until after capital from an IPO is invested in successful projects, further raising the value of the firm.

9.1 Important Assumptions

  • Growth of NICS will parallel that of LASIK.
  • Expansion into foreign markets will not occur in this 5-year plan.
  • Projections related to consumer acceptance were estimated using market survey.
  • Total market size was based on only 1/3 of all patients having both eyes corrected (current data supports as much as 2/3).
  • Research Grant of $2 million applied for in May of 2001 will be received by December 2002.
  • Stanford University backing of research proposal and offering of facilities will decrease total research and design expenditures by 50%.

Sales/Revenues

  • Projections were based on continued rejection by insurance companies to reimburse for refractive correction.
  • Acceptable premiums were developed using preliminary market survey of n=50.

9.2 Break-even Analysis

With a fully operational average monthly fixed cost, NovOculi will break-even once the sales volume as shown in the table below is reached. Per-unit revenue and costs for the Iontophoretic Device, Licensing Fees, and the Polymeric Vehicle have been averaged. The management estimates that the company will reach this sales volume by the third year of operations, at which time the per-unit direct costs and direct costs of sales will begin decreasing.

Eye surgery equipment maker business plan, financial plan chart image

9.3 Projected Profit and Loss

The Projected Profit and Loss table takes into account the significant subsidization of NovOculi’s research efforts by the Stanford University Department of Ophthalmology. Due to this strategic alliance, the company’s research expenditures have been nearly halved.

Eye surgery equipment maker business plan, financial plan chart image

9.4 Projected Cash Flow

Important points to note in Projected Cash Flow are as follows:

  • In Year 1 of the business plan, the company expects to raise (Section 1) working capital.
  • While the company has planned for additional capital raising (Section 2) in Year 3 of the business plan, it is expected that research grants will have been secured by this point and capital raising will not be necessary.

Eye surgery equipment maker business plan, financial plan chart image

9.5 Projected Balance Sheet

While Inventory on the Balance Sheet may appear disproportionately low in comparison to sales, this is due to the fact that one of the components of total sales, licensing fees, is not a durable good and will require no inventory.

9.6 Business Ratios

The following table presents important ratios from the Opthalmic goods industry, as determined by the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) Index code 3851.

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How to Create a Business Plan for Your Dental Practice

How to Create a Business Plan for Your Dental Practice

Creating an effective business plan is essential for any business’s success—including dental practices. Business plans provide detailed information that helps businesses forge a path towards long-term growth and success. Such information may regard market analysis, marketing, cash flow projection, competitive analysis, and other relevant business information. By determining such information and crafting a plan, businesses can focus on the actionable steps necessary to turn their goals into a reality and achieve their short- and long-term objectives. As such, business plans are an invaluable strategic tool that all businesses should take the time to carefully craft. To learn how to create a business plan for your dental practice, continue reading.

Executive summary

The executive summary is an essential aspect of any business plan. It is a short section that summarizes the entirety of your business plan in a way that allows readers to quickly become acquainted with the key points and its main purpose. Typically, your executive summary should not exceed two pages.

This section is especially important when it comes to approaching lenders. It should entice the potential lender to help you receive the funding you need to get your practice up and running. Therefore, your executive summary should be written in a way that is persuasive and compelling. Let the lender know how you intend to make your business a success and express the vision of your practice.

While the executive summary will be included as the first section of your business plan, it should be the last area that you write. Because the executive summary is a compilation of all other areas of your business plan, you must have already flushed out such details before writing it.

Description of products and services

This section should provide information regarding the products and services that your dental practice offers. If you are acquiring an existing practice, make sure to detail any major changes that will be made to the products and services that were being offered by the previous practice owner. For example, if you are planning on offering additional services that the current owner is not offering, mention them here.

When creating a business plan for your dental practice, you should also include a section that details how it will be managed. In this section, detail information about the type of business structure your practice will have. For example, you should determine if your practice will be structured as a partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship.

This section should also include a list of the management personnel and professional advisers that will comprise your team, such as financial partners, insurance agents, real estate advisors, attorneys, and business associates. In addition to compiling a list of key management professionals, you should provide further information on their job responsibilities. Such information will help prove to business lenders that you have a plan for how your office will function and that you have the necessary support system to be successful.

Competitive analysis and marketing strategy

In this section, you should include data on what your competition is doing regarding their online presence, digital content, SEO rankings, and other relevant data. Upon detailing the state of your competitor’s marketing efforts, you should then detail your own marketing plan.

Here, you should first provide an overview of your intended market and your target patient. Include information on their income level, age, and lifestyle. If you target patient is similar to that of a competing dental practice in the area, clearly state how you intend to set your practice apart from your competition and maintain a consistent customer base.

In addition, you should also detail a content map and provide information regarding your website design. If your practice will be taking a different approach from other competitors, note it in your strategy and clearly provide a rationale as to why.

Financial plan

One of the most important sections in your business plan is the financial plan. This section will be of chief interest to potential lenders, as it will help them make an informed business decision regarding whether they can approve your loan proposal. As such, it should be carefully planned and written in great detail. Here, you should list a variety of relevant financial information, such as the following:

  • Projected income of your practice for the initial 12- through 24-month period
  • Cash flow forecast
  • Personal financial statement
  • Information on how startup funds will be allocated
  • Total funds required by your practice for the following two years
  • Offered collateral
  • Historical financial analysis

Supporting financial documents

In addition to the above information, you should also provide the necessary supporting documents that potential dental lenders can review when making their decision. If you are undergoing a dental practice acquisition , many of the necessary documents will be provided by the selling dentist. However, you will have to prepare some of them. Such financial documents to provide in this section may include:

  • Present business financial statements
  • Recent copy of your credit report
  • Copy of current aging schedule
  • Three years of historical financial statements, individual income tax returns, and business income tax returns
  • Current personal financial statement
  • Prospective financials for five years such as forecasts, cash flows, and projections

Such financial documents should be 90-days old or less to be considered current under lending guidelines.

Financial influences

In the financial section of your business plan, you should also provide information that displays you have accounted for the impact of financial influences. Such influences may include business cycles, competition, the economy, seasonal variations, and other events that may impact your practice’s finances. All other information included in your financial plan should account for such influences.

The operations section will likely be the last and longest section of your business plan. Here, you will get into the nitty-gritty details the day-to-day operations that occur at your practice. You should provide information regarding the following information to provide lenders with a clear picture of how your practice will function:

  • Office hours
  • Days of operation
  • Necessary equipment and supplies
  • Major suppliers you plan to source equipment from
  • Equipment-maintenance schedules
  • Ideal patient flow
  • Dental insurances you do and do not accept

Henry Schein Professional Practice Transitions is the leader in dental practice sales and transitions. Whether you are purchasing or selling a practice, we can help you through every step of the process. Thanks to our extensive marketing resources, national network of dental transition consultants, and superior hands-on client services, your dental practice transition is sure to be as advantageous as possible. To get started on the transition process, schedule a free 30-minute phone consultation with Henry Schein Professional Practice Transitions today.

How to Create a Business Plan for Your Dental Practice

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Transgender Deputy’s Win on Surgery Coverage Survives Appeal

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  1. How to Write a Business Plan for a Medical Practice

    Position your practice's business opportunity. Now that you're familiar with what's included in your executive summary, tuck that information away, and get to work on the rest of your plan. Think of the next few sections of your plan as the overarching description of your practice's business opportunity.

  2. Ambulatory Surgery Center Business Plan [Sample Template]

    Nature of the Business. St. James® Ambulatory Surgery Center, Inc. will operate as a B2C - Business to consumer business model. c. The Industry. St. James® Ambulatory Surgery Center, Inc. will operate in the healthcare industry. d. Mission Statement. Our mission is to be the premier choice for outpatient surgical care in Washington D.C.

  3. How to Write a Business Plan for a Private Clinic: Complete Guide

    How to Open a Medical Clinic in 10 Steps: Complete Guide. 1. Executive Summary. The executive summary of a business plan gives a sneak peek of the information about your business plan to lenders and/or investors. If the information you provide here is not concise, informative, and scannable, potential lenders and investors will lose interest.

  4. Medical Practice Business Plan Template & Guide [Updated 2024]

    Medical Practice Business Plan. Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their medical practices. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a medical practice ...

  5. Ultimate Guide to Medical Practice Business Plans

    In a recent Sermo poll, 52% of respondents indicated it is important to get a business plan for your medical practice and we will share reasons why. A business plan helps to define the core essence of your medical practice. With a medical practice business plan, you can properly define your practice's vision, mission, goals and target audience.

  6. Creating a Healthcare Business Plan

    The 10 elements of a healthcare business plan. The following elements are crucial to a well-written healthcare business plan. Each component plays an important role in the planning process and can guide healthcare providers during the initial start-up phase or when expanding the practice. 1. Executive summary.

  7. Surgical Medical Equipment Business Plan Example

    2.2 Start-up Summary. Our start-up expenses come to $258,500, which are mostly equipment, legal costs, patent costs and expenses associated with opening our first office and manufacturing facilities. Another $384,000 is required in start-up assets. The start-up costs are to be financed by direct owners' investment.

  8. Medical Practice Business Plan Template (2024)

    Here are a few tips for writing the market analysis section of your medical clinic business plan: Conduct market research, industry reports, and surveys to gather data. Provide specific and detailed information whenever possible. Illustrate your points with charts and graphs. Write your business plan keeping your target audience in mind. 4.

  9. How to write a business plan for doctors and avoid the pitfalls

    Timeline: If you are starting out or upscaling your practice, create a plan with timeframes for each step. If you underestimate the time to move to the next step, it may cost you money or you may lose momentum and team members who don't have the patience to wait until it all comes together. Budget: Do some research on the various costs to run ...

  10. 10 Steps to Create Your Medical Practice Business Plan

    A single change in the model can result in the difference of night and day. So your practice business model is the most important step in planning. #3. Shortlist Locations. Your practice location is a strategic decision. A good location is one where you are accessible to potential customers.

  11. What are the Elements of a Medical Practice Business Plan?

    Marketing Plan. Marketing is a never-ending aspect of running a business, though it carries even more weight when you are starting up your practice. Plan on developing a website and being on social media. Connect to professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn. Make sure you connect with local physicians and introduce yourself as a potential ...

  12. Operating Room Business Planning

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  13. Starting a Plastic Surgery Practice?

    Create your (realistic) vision and plastic surgery business plan including financial needs. Time and patience are key. You need to take a calculated risk when deciding to start your own plastic surgery practice. Mapping out a realistic timeline, planning for expenses and deciding on marketing efforts will all come into play during this process.

  14. Starting a Successful Plastic Surgery Practice: A Step-By-Step Guide

    Create Your Plastic Surgery Practice Business Plan. Creating a business plan is essential to starting any business. In order to create your plastic surgery business plan, you will need to do the following: Write a Description of Your Business. This should include information such as what type of plastic surgery you will offer, the target market ...

  15. Drafting a budget: Start with a business plan

    Identify external opportunities and threats. According to a report by the University of California at Berkeley, the next step in creating a comprehensive business plan and associated budget is finding "the opportunities for growth, greater profit, and larger market share. Assessing opportunity in relation to competition is imperative.".

  16. Ambulatory Surgery Center's Business Plan Essay

    This is a business plan for a 300-bed community hospital with a hundred physicians and twenty surgeons. There is a new space in the hospital that will be turned into an outpatient surgery center. This business plan explores how this outpatient surgery center can be designed and the number of patients it will take and its strengths, weaknesses ...

  17. Plastic Surgery Business Plan [Sample Template]

    The cost for hiring business consultant - $5,000. Insurance (general liability, workers' compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium - $30,800. The cost of accounting software, CRM software and Payroll Software - $3,000. The cost for leasing facility for the plastic surgery clinic - $180,000.

  18. Robotic Surgery Business Plan [Sample Template]

    A Sample Robotics Surgery Business Plan Template. 1. Industry Overview. According to industry data, the global robotic surgical procedures market was valued at USD 3,912.2 Million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD 13,271.6 Million by the end of 2025, showing a CAGR of 16.6 percent. Businesses in the robotic surgical systems market are ...

  19. Eye Surgery Equipment Maker Business Plan Example

    The largest of the LASIK laser manufacturers is VISX (EYE). Down from its peak valuation of $100/share in July of 1999, VISX now trades at $13, with a market cap of $800 million and a price/earnings (p/e) ratio of 23. VISX is a good candidate for a potential ally in the development of a laser for NICS. LASIK Providers.

  20. PDF Ambulatory Surgery Center Business Planning and Organization Formation

    ASCs Well-Positioned. Low cost delivery model. On average 40% less than hospital setting. ASCs save Medicare $2BN annually. Low capital cost in time of competing demands. High quality outcomes. High patient, surgeon, and staff satisfaction. Non-institutional care setting Available operating room capacity. One of the few remaining vehicles for ...

  21. Ambulatory Sergical Center Business Plan sample.docx

    AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTER BUSINESS PLAN 4 1.0 Executive Summary Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASC) are representation of a creative reaction to advances in the healthcare and medicine. With the capability of modern medicine to carry out various surgeries on based on an "out- patient" approach (quick entry and discharge without overnight admission), hospitals are not the sole choice for ...

  22. Dental Practice Finance Model & Business Plan

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  23. Cosmotic Surgical Center Business Plan

    Cosmotic Surgical Center Business Plan - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. People now days go for cosmetic surgery In India to achieve beauty enhancement. Cosmetic surgery is now more popular that ever with reality TV shows such as extreme makeover increasing public awareness about cosmetic surgery. The medical guide to cosmetic surgery aims to provide ...

  24. Lee's Summit Medical Center COO steps into CEO role

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  25. NEIL TANNA, MD, FACS

    Specialties: Dr. Neil Tanna is a gifted plastic surgeon in Long Island and New York who is known for his discerning eye for beauty, harmony, and balance, and ability to create stunning results. He has devoted his professional life to advancing the field of plastic surgery, and to delivering outstanding, personalized care and attention.

  26. Transgender Deputy's Win on Surgery Coverage Survives Appeal

    A Georgia county's denial of health plan coverage for a sheriff deputy's gender-affirming surgery was illegal discrimination under federal law, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled. A panel of judges split 2-1 on Monday, with the majority finding that refusal to cover the surgery was sex-based bias under Title VII of the ...

  27. The Sunday Read: 'Why Did This Guy Put a Song About Me on Spotify?'

    Even Brett Martin, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and the titular Nice Man, didn't hear the 1 minute 14 second song until last summer, a full 11 years after it was ...