How to Open a Cardiology Clinic
Cardiologists are responsible for keeping the heart healthy and in good working order. As a cardiologist the best way to accomplish this goal is to operate out of a specialty cardiology clinic. Doing so can be a challenging task that may start off small in the beginning but with the right staff can grow over time.
- You'll first need to decide on a location for your cardiology clinic. The office space you choose will need to be large enough for a waiting room, your personal office, storage area, medical closet and a few examination rooms.
- Interview and hire an office manager. Look for candidates who are professional and have previous experience working within the medical field. Verify the candidate you select has previous experience with referrals, medical record law, and medical insurance filing and JCAHO compliance issues.
- Purchase your basic equipment and supplies. You'll need to purchase your larger equipment first such as examination tables, chairs, and scale. However, you can save the smaller purchases for closer to opening day. Don't forget to include the basic office equipment you'll need in order to successfully run the clinic on your list as well.
- Interview and hire your cardiology clinic staff. At this point you should have already hired an office manager who should be able to help you with this step. You'll need to hire a full staff of employees including a front and back office staff of nurses, cardiac technicians and medical assistants.
- Decide on the type of testing you'll perform within the clinic to determine the type of specialty medical equipment you'll need to purchase. At the very minimum you'll need an EKG machine, pulse oximeter, hand-held Doppler and several blood pressure cuffs.
- Network with fellow physicians to notify them that you've opened a cardiology clinic so that they can refer patients to you.