Dr Start-Up

A new wave of ‘doctorpreneurs’ is emerging — and they need a whole range of business skills alongside their clinical expertise. They rely on trusted partners, especially when it comes to the hospital equipment their facility will need in order to operate effectively and safely.

Not your typical start-up

Think of a start-up and chances are you’ll have an image in your head of a young entrepreneur in a tech, social enterprise or hospitality business. Your thoughts probably don’t turn automatically to an experienced and highly professional doctor, surgeon or anaesthetist, setting up a medical facility.

The rise of the ‘doctorpreneur’

But medical entrepreneurs are found in increasing numbers. So much so that the universities of Melbourne and Western Australia are now piloting a clinical entrepreneur program, based on a similar, highly successful program run by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). Amongst this growing number of ‘doctorpreneurs’ are clinicians who have studied for years, worked in private and/or public hospitals, and found themselves increasingly frustrated at the lack of operating facilities in which to treat their patients. So they are taking matters into their own hands and starting their own private day hospitals.

These highly skilled practitioners are used to navigating arteries, or monitoring vital signs, but when it comes to the operation of starting a business, they find they need a whole new set of skills, very different to opening up patients.

Top Gun

One ‘doctorpreneur’ described medical entrepreneurs as being like a fighter pilot who has to build his own airport. ‘Surgeons and anaesthetists are a bit like Maverick — highly qualified people, used to operating in high pressure environments. But in a public or private hospital, just like in the air force, everything is provided for them. Becoming an entrepreneur is like Maverick having to source his own planes, and even build the runway. We have to learn how to do everything from scratch.’

New skills

That means that business and financial expertise is a must — to raise capital and build a sound business plan for a return on their investors’ money.

Medical entrepreneurs need planning skills to find the right site — easy to get to, close to other primary services, including a public hospital, but without too much competition — negotiate a purchase or lease and engage architects and builders.

As business owners, they need to manage the accreditations and certifications they need to practice, and hire the administrative and support staff who’ll support them.

As doctors, they understand the importance of fitting out the facility with safe, reliable and high quality equipment — from sterilisation solutions to operating tables, to patient monitoring. That might include setting up ancillary service areas, such as pathology or medical imaging, and leasing out part of the facility.

The importance of partners

With such a wide range of skills needed, today’s breed of clinical entrepreneurs rely heavily on trusted partners. They need to find suppliers that can provide expert help, reduce the stress and be as invested in the success of the new facility as they are.

The seven essential questions when choosing an equipment partner

When it comes to equipment, there are seven things that ‘doctorpreneurs’ need in a trusted partner:

1. A wide range of equipment — when you’re fitting out operating theatres and recovery wards from scratch, you don’t have the time to be working with multiple suppliers, each of whom can only provide a small piece of the solution. So medical entrepreneurs need to look for a supplier who can fit out the whole facility. A turnkey solution, from a supplier who offers a full range from lights, to tables, to pendants, to anaesthetic machines under a single contract, takes away much of the headache of equipping your new facility.
2. Advice and insights — the world of medical equipment is constantly changing and doctors and anaesthetists may not always be up to speed with the latest developments, especially if they’ve come from an environment that has older items. It’s important to look for a partner who can provide you with advice and guidance, not just a catalogue.
3. Finance — you may want to look for a supplier who can finance your equipment, to reduce the burden on your capital. Ask if they can structure a plan so that you pay for the equipment as it is generating revenue for you.
4. Can they supply high quality, best of breed equipment? Will they provide equipment that meets stringent certification requirements? Having built a state-of-the-art day hospital, you need to ensure you have the equipment to match.
5. Timeframes — can the supplier provide your equipment at the right time? On the one hand, you need it in time for the opening, and don’t want to have delays. But on the other hand, you don’t want to be paying for equipment too early, before it is helping you to generate revenue. So it’s important to work with a partner who is flexible enough to fit around your plans.
6. Will the supplier help you to install the equipment, and train your staff on how to get the best from it? It’s essential you don’t end up with a partner who supplies and walks away.
7. Will your partner be at your side throughout the lifetime of the equipment? An operating table that doesn’t work means that you can’t work, so you can’t afford ‘downtime’. A regular preventative maintenance program minimises the chance of essential equipment not being available. After sales service is key to the successful use of your equipment, so check that your chosen partner has well-trained, medically knowledgeable people in your state (and in others if you plan on expanding), who will pick up the phone when you call, and continue to support you and your hospital.

There is so much that goes into opening a new day care hospital. ‘Doctorpreneurs’ need to find trusted partners along every step of the way. Having the right equipment, and ensuring it is available, working, when you need it, is a significant part of the success of your new venture. Using our seven questions checklist will ensure you to find the right partner for your vital hospital equipment.