A healthcare startup has a lot of obstacles to overcome. From building a patient roster to pricing treatments appropriately to ensuring you can work with as many insurance providers as possible, the more flexible you can be, the better your services will be received.
In the healthcare sector, you’ll have a unique level of both internal and external pressures to contend with. The common challenges you’ll face will fall into multiple categories, and pop up at various times.
Let’s go through three of the most common to ensure you’re aware of just how much of a caseload you’ll be focusing on from day one.
Seeing Patients in Their Homes
Telehealth tech has opened up the healthcare world to people with historic issues in accessing it. People with a limited ability to walk, or to conduct activities independently, can now be assessed and diagnosed within their own home.
Investing in this tech is key for the startup phase of a new healthcare company. However, many believe that this is too much of an expense at such an early phase.
But keep in mind that you can double your patient intake here, especially if you are also able to get patients logged on without ever having to download a new app they have to get to grips with. You can do this by sending out text messages with simple web browser links, and many clinics already take this approach.
Creating Robust Workplace Policies
Not only do these policies have to be fair to any clients and/or patients you deal with, but they need to be fair towards your staff as well. It can be difficult to create a robust caring policy, whether you’re a walk-in clinic offering direct treatment or you’re a therapy center where someone has to be referred before they can access the service.
You can find support in creating the best health and social care policies for your business, but the main thing to think about is how you can keep your service equal for everyone involved. You don't want doctors rushed off their feet, nor do you want patients to feel like they’ve been ushered out the door and have nowhere to complain about it.
Long Wait Times
It can be difficult to keep care paths moving for many patients. This can be dangerous in some cases, whereas it’s just a frustration in others. Both sides of the equation can leave your customer service with a headache.
Prioritizing your caseload according to urgency is essential, but ensure there’s a sense of transparency for any other patients as well. They need to know when they can expect to see you again, be updated on their care, or be sent for more tests that could be of benefit to them.
Building a business in the healthcare sector is a challenge. You’ll run into many obstacles, and may even receive bad reviews along the way. Anticipate this in advance by staying aware of issues like these.
