(For new ventures)
Starting a healthcare business without a healthcare background.
You bring the idea and the business sense. We bring the healthcare know-how: the operating model, compliance, technology and patient experience, so you can launch something safe, compliant and genuinely good to use.
(Know the terrain)
Four things that catch new founders out.
- A
Care is regulated
Clinical care must be delivered by appropriately registered practitioners. And anyone who advertises a regulated health service, including a business owner who isn’t a clinician, must follow the advertising rules in the National Law, which ban testimonials about clinical care.1
- B
Medicare runs through practitioners
Medicare benefits are claimed against individual practitioners’ provider numbers, so your billing model, practitioner agreements and service mix shape whether the business is viable.
- C
Health information is sensitive
Health information is sensitive information under Australian privacy law, and any business that provides a health service is covered by the Privacy Act, whatever its size.2
- D
Safety needs a system
Clinical governance, the policies, leadership and incident processes that keep care safe, has to be designed in from the start. Patients and practitioners will judge you on it.
(How we help)
From idea to a service patients trust.
Shape the model
The services, patients, practitioner model and revenue model, tested against the rules before you commit.
Build the foundations
Clinical governance, policies, privacy, systems and technology, with vendors chosen on merit.
Launch
Telehealth and booking set up, a website that gets found, and a patient journey that builds trust from the first click.
Run and grow
Ongoing operational support on retainer, with the data to see what is working and where to grow.
(Questions)
Common questions.
Can I own a medical clinic if I am not a doctor?
In most cases, yes. Many Australian clinics and telehealth services are owned by people who are not clinicians, but care must be delivered by appropriately registered practitioners, and some health services have extra ownership rules (pharmacies, for example). Always confirm your structure with a lawyer, and we will help you design everything around it.
Where do I start?
With a 30-minute discovery call. We will talk through your idea, what is realistic, and the first decisions you will need to make, with no obligation.
Can you help me launch a telehealth-only service?
Yes. We help telehealth-first founders with the operating model, compliance, platform, clinician workflows and patient experience.
(Sources)
- Ahpra. Advertising and the law.
- Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Australian Privacy Principles guidelines, Chapter B: Key concepts.
(Next step)