Practical Tips for Starting an Urgent Care Center on a Lean Budget

How much does it cost to start an urgent care center? The short answer is anywhere from $850,000 to $1 million. Even when almost 19% of U.S. households visit retail medical clinics in any given year, you may not see those returns on your investment for quite a while. So what can you do when you’re trying to start an urgent care clinic on a lean budget? Here are a few practical tips.

Keep Location and Workforce Small

In most cases, your urgent care clinic will be serving a small area. In accordance with that, keeping your location and your staff on the smaller side can do a few things for you. First, you’re more likely to fit in with other businesses if you’re operating in a town with a smaller population. Second, you can save money on utilities, salaries, and more when you keep your staff small.

Invest in Your Staff

Keeping things on the smaller end in terms of space and staff can help you save money in the short-term, but it’s important to invest in the right staff. If that means paying more for someone who has excellent experience and shares your values, it’s well worth it. From bedside manner to business savvy, investing in the right people can make all the difference to your business and to your patients.

Choose Your Practice Management Tools Wisely

When it comes to starting an urgent care business, choosing the right electronic health records (EHR) and practice management tools is critical. When you can run your clinic efficiently and have all of your health records organized in minutes, you’ll be saving time and money. If you’re unsure what to look for in these tools, consider asking the following questions before you make a choice.

• How much does this software cost?
• How quickly can my staff learn this software?
• Would I use this software’s functions daily?
• Can this software help me provide better patient care?
• Does this software make day-to-day duties more efficient?

It may seem unnecessary to ask so many questions, but practice management tools that don’t check all of these boxes may be a waste of time and money.

So, how much does it cost to start an urgent care center? The average won’t change, but how you approach your clinic can make a world of difference. Working with a lean budget can be challenging, but with a few savvy tips and some excellent urgent care business consulting, you’ll be on your way in no time.