Business Opportunities as a Doctor

[nychila]

Hi, I am completely certain that I want to be a practicing physician, but I am also completely certain that I would like to venture into business opportunities in the future. The latter is not for personal income, it is rather simply something that I enjoy. It is however true that a successful business is judged by its revenue, so I would like to make my venture as profitable as possible.

So my question is: What business opportunities are common for a doctor?

I can think of the following:
- operating a clinic (common)
- medical consulting firm
- develop medical instruments

Seeing that only in exceedingly rare cases that the senior executives of health, pharmaceutical, or biotech companies have MD degrees, I am guessing that rising to the top of a public company would be nearly impossible.

Thanks for any ideas, or any references that can be offered.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hi, I am completely certain that I want to be a practicing physician, but I am also completely certain that I would like to venture into business opportunities in the future. The latter is not for personal income, it is rather simply something that I enjoy. It is however true that a successful business is judged by its revenue, so I would like to make my venture as profitable as possible.

So my question is: What business opportunities are common for a doctor?

I can think of the following:
- operating a clinic (common)
- medical consulting firm
- develop medical instruments

Seeing that only in exceedingly rare cases that the senior executives of health, pharmaceutical, or biotech companies have MD degrees, I am guessing that rising to the top of a public company would be nearly impossible.

Thanks for any ideas, or any references that can be offered.

You will find that pretty much any successful start-up is a 100 hour a week job if you are going to make it profitable, which is why so few physicians have significant side businesses unless they plan to do that full time or have full time partners. It may be easy to say "oh, I will start my own consulting business", but it's not like you create a website and people mail you money to help them in your 4 hours a week of spare time while you are a practicing clinician. you have to be out there marketing, networking, meeting with clients, making phone calls, reviewing documents, writing up plans full time or you lose your business to the guy across the street who can provide better service because he's not also trying to be a clinician. As for developing instruments, I've known a few folks who have done this and it's very capital intense as well -- most spent $10k-$50k to bring the product to market with no guaranty that it would sell -- many don't.

 

[michaelrack]

As for developing instruments, I've known a few folks who have done this and it's very capital intense as well -- most spent $10k-$50k to bring the product to market with no guaranty that it would sell -- many don't.

Doesn't it cost more than that? I believe you need to get FDA approval for most medical devices.

 

[nychila]

I am willing to forgot my practice and instead focus on my business full-time, provided I see a viable business opportunity.

Are there other common options for physicians interested in business or health (not hospital or university) management?

 

[Frazier]

I am willing to forgot my practice and instead focus on my business full-time, provided I see a viable business opportunity.

Are there other common options for physicians interested in business or health (not hospital or university) management?

There is an entire business subforum on SDN with years-worth of posts/threads. Give it a look...

 

[music2doc]

I am willing to forgot my practice and instead focus on my business full-time, provided I see a viable business opportunity.

Are there other common options for physicians interested in business or health (not hospital or university) management?

It appears you're a premed, so if you are so ready to let medicine go for business why not simply let it go now and begin pursuing your interest in business? There is no reason to go into half a million dollars of debt if you're not even sure you want to be a physician...

 

[ucladoc2b]

It appears you're a premed, so if you are so ready to let medicine go for business why not simply let it go now and begin pursuing your interest in business? There is no reason to go into half a million dollars of debt if you're not even sure you want to be a physician...

You'll quickly find out that medicine is the business of delivering healthcare. Having a private practice is a business that comes with all the fun and pitfalls of running one. Heck, most physicians are paid on an "eat what you kill basis," even in an academic setting.

To the OP, there are plenty of business opportunities within healthcare, if you choose to pursue them as part of your career. Just make sure you really want to be a doctor (it's a long proess if you don't).

 

[music2doc]

You'll quickly find out that medicine is the business of delivering healthcare. Having a private practice is a business that comes with all the fun and pitfalls of running one. Heck, most physicians are paid on an "eat what you kill basis," even in an academic setting.

To the OP, there are plenty of business opportunities within healthcare, if you choose to pursue them as part of your career. Just make sure you really want to be a doctor (it's a long proess if you don't).

I realize this. It wasn't uncommon for my family to have a few months straight where my dad (a physician) literally brought home $0 pay checks because insurance had simply neglected to pay his practice for the patients they'd seen and they had to pay their employees first. The business side of opening a practice is crucial to the practice of medicine.

However, the OP seems to want something that's not healthcare-related:

I am willing to forgot my practice and instead focus on my business full-time, provided I see a viable business opportunity.

Are there other common options for physicians interested in business or health (not hospital or university) management?

OP, you could do consulting for physicians' offices as well or something along those lines.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Go to business school and work your way into executive hospital positions, then you can have fun bossing doctors around all day.

For serious I wouldn't bet on being able to open up an independent private practice by the time you've gone through residency. Small practices are goin the way of the dodo bird because it's just becoming non-economical to run them. You're already seeing consolidation into large practices or absorption by hospitals to become hospital extensions.