Choosing the location to set up a new practice is
an important business decision.
Accessibility
You want to make the travel and accessibility to your practice
as easy as possible for your patients. The following should be
considered:
- Public transport availability
- Car parking within the practice
- If parking is not available in the practice car park, how far
are the nearest parking options and what are the potential costs
and time limits?
Health care services benefit from being in close proximity to
other medical and allied health services. This provides convenience
for patients who may be required to undertake medical tests from a
range of medical services, and in marketing terms it makes your
practice more appealing to patients. For example, a general
practice located close to a pharmacist is convenient for patients
to fill scripts. An orthopaedic surgeon located close to radiology
services is convenient for patients who may have a degree of
immobility. Many practitioners may also need to be located
reasonably close to hospitals for ease of access when performing
duties as a visiting medical officer. Ideally, practices should
also be ground floor level or accessible by a lift, as stairs will
be a deterrent for many patients for a variety of reasons,
including patients requiring a wheelchair and parents/carers with
prams.
Find a local map and locate all existing health and medical
services. You will often find they are close to each other. When
establishing a new practice, consider locations central to the
majority of other services. For an existing practice, ask yourself,
'How would people get from one service to another? Is access to
services easy?'
Visibility
Your patients must be able to find you easily. Particularly in
the case of general practice, a location in view of passing traffic
can increase your profile and boost accessibility as potential
patients will be aware of you. Even with an excellent location,
good signage is needed.
Improving your practice
In setting up your practice you will have researched and planned
using the following steps:
- Identify and categorise your present skills/experience and
interests.
- Consider the patient population that would benefit from your
skills and experience.
- Identify where those patient populations are.
- Choose the location for your practice to match the potential
patients.
Consider the following:
Demographics
A fundamental principle of market research is knowing who your
customers are. Consider the total population and the size of each
age group. This basic set of statistics available from the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (see links) will inform you how many young children,
teenagers, young adults, families and elderly make up the
population. This will give you an indication of the suitability
between your type of practice and the patient population you want
to provide a service to, and the local population. Is there
alignment?
Town planning
Contact the local council for information about new developments
and incoming new businesses. Also check the proximity and size of
the central business district. Are there other desirable services
nearby (supermarkets, cafes etc.) - this may help increase
visibility and also help the practice to be seen as an integral
part of the community.
Practitioner density
A simple check of the internet will give an idea of how many
practitioners service the local area and their field of medical
practice (note that many practices no longer advertise in the local
phone book). Your Medicare Local may also provide some useful
information regarding existing services in your area.
Backup services in the area
Contact the Medicare Local, local public hospital or community
health provider to establish the allied and other community support
services available in the area. Who provides them and how
often?